A Robin's Wings
by Nightrobin05
Summary: Harry and his family moved to Gotham when he was only four, as he grows he finds himself slowly drawn into the legacy of the Dark Knight.
1. A New Beginning

**I'm rather disappointed with the Harry Potter Batman crossover sections on the sight, all those stories and not one with Harry as Robin? Unacceptable. As such I am writing one of my own, and yes I know this opening chapter sucks, it's only a lead up to events, anyway please read and review tell whether you like the idea or not. Also I'm not sure I will have a pairing for this story, I'm currently planning a sequel and I'm thinking of HarryxLuna.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Batman, I really wish I did because let's face it that would be totally awesome. However as I already said I don't own them. Damn it.**

**Oh, and a small heads up, this story is based in the Under the Red Hood verse many of the characters will however use the designs from Young Justice. Except for Joker who will remain in his Under the Red Hood look and voice, they should shoot the voice actor and designer in Young Justice for what they did to him.**

**Edit: Thank you to my wonderful Beta Wingsoffate who has helped me edit this chater **

Chapter 1: A New Beginning

To say Vernon Dursley was happy would be the understatement of the year, no Vernon was not just happy he was positively joyful. Now this was not a very common emotion for the rather rotund man however at the moment he felt that this emotion was justified and as such couldn't help but beam constantly, a smile seemingly carved upon his face.

This rather out of character disposition was due to two factors, one being he had just been given the biggest promotion of his career so far and two that this rather large promotion involved moving to an entirely different country. Now for most people the second factor would be a negative, however Vernon had what he considered a very good reason for being happy, said reason was sat in the back of the brand new car that was taking them to their new home far away from the 'freaks' in grand old England.

He looked up into the rear view mirror, two children visible from the reflection both seemingly opposite to each other in looks and stature. The one on the right was rather rotund and looked almost like a miniature version of Vernon with short, blonde greasy hair and a piggish face. Small blue eyes stared sullenly out of a pudgy face with very little neck. This was Vernon's own son Dudley who took after the man not only in looks but also mannerisms and attitude –an attitude that had a tendency to get him trouble with many of his teachers and encouraged him to bully anyone smaller the him, which was a lot of people. He sat with his face pressed onto the window looking at the passing scenery with disinterest, too bored to even complain.

The child on the left was Harry Potter, a small child for his young age of four, with a wild shock of raven locks and large round emerald eyes that seemed to shine in the right light. He had a small thin frame and a submissive personality that often led to bullying from Dudley and his gang of friends. However Harry's most curious feature was the small lightning bolt scar on his forehead, this scar while odd was hardly noticeable as it was often hidden beneath his bangs. Harry was Vernon's nephew and had been reluctantly taken in by him and his wife –a rather nosy woman named Petunia who resembled a horse more then her name sake- when he was one years old after his parents died. Despite the fact that Harry was their nephew neither Vernon nor Petunia truly cared for the boy, often ignoring his existence in favour of Dudley.

Vernon and Petunia were what they liked to call 'perfectly normal' people, who had a perfectly 'freakish' nephew. You see Harry was what you would call special, this was due to one very important fact; Harry was a wizard. Back in Britain there was a whole society of them who lived their lives cut off from the outside world. Vernon and Petunia were well aware of this while Harry remained clueless to his heritage and the power he possessed. And if Vernon and Petunia had their way, he would remain unaware. The two shared a great disdain for anything they considered odd or unnatural, Harry was classed as both in their minds along with any other Wizard.

As such, the two would often exclude the boy from the family, referring to him as boy or even Potter. They also took advantage of the power they held over him to force him into doing household chores that were beyond his age, the threat of an orphanage always proving to be a good motivator.

However, the small boy didn't let this get him down and had a rather positive outlook on life; he was rather bright and preferred to think things over rather than rush in head first. This outlook often came from the knowledge that his family could be a lot worse; this led to him settling somewhat into his position in the family. Well _most_ of the time, he did have his moments of silliness like any four year old. Harry himself was staring out of the window at the passing cars, observing everything with open curiosity. He had been watching the different cars for the past forty minutes, but now something different caught his eye.

Out of the darkness a large city seemed to slowly materialise, the buildings tall and shadowed. Many had sharp, jutting angles that gave the place an old feel. What really caught the young child's attention –beyond the size of it- was the contrast between the streets and the rooftops. The roofs were all dark and looked like the place a monster would happily call its home, while the streets themselves were bathed in light and were alive with the hustle and bustle of everyday lives. As they got closer and closer Harry felt a mixture of fear and excitement settle in his belly, this was their new home.

As the boy continued to watch, a single sign came into view.

_Welcome to Gotham city_.


	2. 4 Years Later

**Not to happy with how this chapter came out it was originaly a lot longer but I edited it death, so what can you do. Anyway please read and review the next chapter will hopfully be up in a few hours, if not then tomorrow. **

**Disclaimer: I still own nothing…except everything that belongs to me, which isn't Harry Potter or Batman as luck would have it. Stupid luck…**

Chapter 2: 4 Years later

It had been four years since the Dursley household had moved to Gotham, they had for the most part settled. Vernon and Petunia had not been too happy at first with their new home; the house while big had no furnishings and looked to have been left in poor condition despite being in the upper part of Gotham.

They had to stay in a hotel for a couple of weeks as Vernon's new job paid for it to be fixed up, soon after that they had moved in and were happy to be slightly away from the city. This was mostly down to them finding out that Gotham had an extremely high crime rate, not to mention the fact that it had super criminals and some vigilante running around doing the polices job. Therefore, their first impression of Gotham was not very good; Harry himself had been prone to having mixed feeling about it. He found the place exciting and not to mention interesting however he recognised a constant feeling of fear surrounded the city, one that had invaded the people themselves.

However, over the years the family had slowly settled into life the Dursley's choosing to stay while making compromises to themselves. Harry had begun to love the city in his own way, while Dudley seemed immune to it. The two had started school soon after they arrived, and both had remained opposites. Dudley while strong had absolutely no energy to prosper in athletics while his time was taken up mostly by video games which led to poor grades all around. Harry on the other hand happened to prosper in both physical and mental lessons, thanks to Harry hunting he was fast and agile. Due to the Dursley's not giving the boy much attention or permission to use any of Dudley's consoles he spent much of his time reading.

Despite this Harry wasn't very noticed in school or at home, the teachers often overlooking his work for another student the kids much the same. Harry had never had friends back in England –mostly due to the Dursley's- and had hoped to possibly make some here. That had not been the case unfortunately and despite coming from an entirely different country Dudley had managed to become the school's number one bully, with Harry as his favourite target.

As such Harry had quickly learned to hide as well as blend in, the more he blended the less noticeable he was. Without friends or a social life Harry had taken to wandering and would often spend his time exploring the city or his school looking for places to hide from Dudley and his little gang. He was often successful and found an enjoyment out of climbing to high places, sometimes even running across the school roofs.

This had become the habit over the years and Harry had found himself perfectly content with being ignored, if no one would give him attention why should he give them it? He was somewhat happy dreaming of the day he was old enough to leave the Dursley's and make it on his own, looking out for only number one, himself.

That was, until the routine was broken.

Harry was not very happy as he walked home, the dark streets lit by the dim amber glow of the street lamps. Dudley being the usual idiot that he was had managed to score Harry a detention with Mr Jones, Harry's least favourite teacher. He had gone to him claiming that Harry had hit him, Jones –who hated Harry's guts for some reason- had believed Dudley and had told Harry that he was to stay behind after class. Vernon who barely allowed the boy in his car had chosen to also believe Dudley and as punishment not pick Harry up after the detention. They lived five miles away and the quickest way to get there was through the narrows, the place where the majority of crimes took place in Gotham. And to add to all that it had begun to rain.

'Perfect' though the boy as he pulled on his bag slightly, his legs and back aching from the strain he was putting on them both. He had entered the narrows only moments ago but already he could hear various cries, many of which came from the local gangs who liked to hang around this area at night. Harry ignored them and soldiered on, careful to avoid any alleyways or odd-looking people.

Harry walked like this for ten minutes all the while keeping his senses on alert, his eyes constantly examining the area making the boy further paranoid rather than comforted when they found nothing. He was just turning the corner to head down another street when he saw it, a man was on the floor around him where around twenty teens many of which looked like they had gone to a punk rock concert and never left.

These teens where mostly male the girls watching form the side-lines as the guys spat at the person who was twitching where he lay. Harry paused unsure of what to do, while he was fine with looking out for number one he wasn't a heartless kid like many of those in the city. Rather the boy cared but he had no one to care for, as such he found himself debating silently what he should do. He could run to a call box and get the police, but by the time they showed up the person could have died. The punks had luckily not noticed him and Harry tried to take advantage of this by hiding behind a large skip set against the wall, he found himself trembling as he carefully peaked around it.

He was just a kid; it wasn't like there was anything he could do. Besides why help the person it wasn't like he even knew who they were, why should he risk himself foe them.

'Because its right' the boy paused at this thought and cursed his conscience and its hero complex. Sighing the boy went to stand up, maybe he could draw their attention away from the guy or something.

He was stopped as he heard pained cries come from the area, he blinked before peaking round the skip to find it wasn't the man on the floor who had let them out. Some punks where now on the floor, others backing away as a large demonic shadow stood before them.

Harry watched in silence his mouth gaping slightly as the figures name made it past his lips "Batman…"

Luckily the man appeared to be busy with the punks as he dove into their ranks quickly taking them down with well-placed kicks and punches. Many tried to flee; a rope with some ball attached would quickly catch them and left them tied up before the figure that had yet to stop moving. Finally there were only two left one was in front of Batman the other sneaking up behind him, harry panicked slightly as he saw the man behind get closer and closer. Not truly thinking he yelled out "LOOK OUT!"

Batman turned around in time to dodge the blow and catch the man's fist, he then pulled and threw him into the other attacked leaving both unconscious on the floor. He was breathing heavily but appeared to be uninjured, he then reached up to his mask and pushed on the side of it, a few seconds later he had turned to look at Harry who now stood next to the skip.

The two said nothing as they stared at each other, the younger feeling heavily intimidated barely managed to keep from looking away. Batman seemed surprised by this but said nothing instead he withdrew a mechanism from under his cape and pointed it at the roof tops, it snagged moments later and pulled him away leaving Harry alone with the injured man.

Seconds later the sound of police sirens could be heard, not wanting to get in trouble Harry pulled his sight away from where Batman had disappeared and ran off in the opposite direction. He would take the long route home.

He never noticed the dark shadow that observed him from its perch on the roof top.

**...**


	3. Harry's Decision

**Yays, thank you to those of you who have reviewed, to the 164 people who have read it and not bothered…*gives evil eyes* **_**get your ass' in gear**_**. Lol jokes, but seriously thank you for reviewing. Yes I have the third chapter finished *does little victory dance* and since I've already completed the fourth there both going up tonight. I'm going to work on five, six and seven when I get a chance since eight is also already done along with eleven and twelve…I don't know why I write that way either. **

**Anyway hope you guys like it, I tried to show Harry's conflict as clear as possible, but it might only be clear to me. Also can anyone guess what lesson he is in? Believe me it's not hard. Again read and review, you see that word Review? Yeah do that, you know Review or ill set Joker on you.**

**Disclaimer: I have bought most of the Harry Potter films as well as all of the Batman's and most of the various animated cartoon box sets. However I have yet to buy either of the two franchises, therefore logically speaking I don't but do own them. So don't sue…I mean it I'm penniless now I've bought them. 0.0**

_**Jostanos: **_**thank you, I love to RP and I wouldn't mind going through scenes with you. Also thank you for your offer to beta, I've never had one before (which explains the majority of the mistakes in my stories) if you are interested let me know and I will PM you my email address, again thanks. X)**

Chapter 3: Harry's decision

Harry sat at his desk half listening, half ignoring what his teacher was saying. His mind was a million miles away, repeatedly playing last night's events over and over again. He had seen the Batman, the actual Batman. It was incredible to say the least, as well as slightly exciting.

The guy was incredible, he took down all those crooks and had barely looked fazed. Harry smiled slightly as he looked down at his notebook, it had multiple crude drawings of the man. Harry started yet another one as he occasionally looked out the window his thoughts occupied by the man of shadow.

He saved that man last night, and unlike Harry he hadn't hesitated instead he had put himself in the way to save him. Harry had meanwhile hid like a coward, as this thought occurred to him he found himself gripping his pen hard his eyes narrowing slightly as a frown made its way onto his face.

'A coward…that all I am…' Harry stared at the doodles his eyes looking at the image but not really taking it in. He had planned to help the man last night he really had, but that wasn't the point. The point was that he had hesitated in doing so, he had hesitated to help someone who was being picked on by someone bigger than them.

Harry was no stranger to bully's not with Dudley and his friends around, he knew what it was like to feel so alone. So outnumbered.

He glared at the image, his anger at himself finding a small outlet in doing so. Batman wasn't afraid, he had stood up and challenged the bully and come out then winner. Why couldn't Harry do that? Why couldn't he be brave enough to do that?

"Mr Potter?" Harry looked up startled to find his teacher staring at him "would you please answer the question?"

Harry felt a small feeling of panic and looked around the room slightly hoping there would be an answer, he only found the class staring at him. Harry blushed slightly before meeting the eyes of his teacher who was looking expectantly at him "I'm sorry sir I wasn't listening, could you repeat the question please?"

Mr Burgess sighed slightly while giving Harry a disappointed look before speaking once more, ignoring the snickers from some of his class "I asked what right do we have to help others?"

Harry paused slightly the question hitting a little to near to his previous thought track to be considered comfortable, he paused for a second before glancing back at the image on the pad. "We should help others if we have the power to do so" Harry as much as he didn't like the answer knew it was correct, no one should stand back and do nothing if they can possibly help.

Mr Burgess gave him a small nod before turning his attention back to the whole class "true, but what of those who don't have the power to do so, do any of you believe that they should still try?"

The class murmured many saying that they would of course if in that situation try to help, lying to themselves as well as their friends. Harry said nothing and returned his gaze to the doodle the image holding a lot of meaning to him in those few seconds.

"What if a complete stranger someone who you have never met before is being held at gunpoint, would you risk your own lives to save theirs?" Burgess looked around the class trying to encourage an answer out of one of the children.

"If they were hot" one kid yelled out from the back, earning a wry smile from Burgess and a laugh from the majority of the class. Harry remained quiet, frustrated with himself. Why did this matter? Why did it matter if he would save someone or not? It wasn't like that defined him as a person or something, even as he thought this the boy disagreed with himself. 'It's what proves that I'm not like them' as he thought this he looked towards Dudley who was still laughing at the joke.

"Ok, well what if they weren't 'hot'" Burgess continued making air quotes with his fingers when he said hot "would you save them?" No one answered this time and the children looked like they were truly thinking about it, after a few moments no one volunteered an answer so he chose to move on. "Do you have a right to save them?"

Now the children looked confused many giving him a lost puppy look hoping that he wouldn't pick on them for an answer, finally one girl near the front chose to ask the question on everyone's mind. "what do you mean sir?"

Burgess who had been standing in front of his desk up until this point now leant back slightly against it, his arms folded across his chest "what I mean is, do any of us have the right to risk our own lives to help others, even those who are complete strangers?"

Once again no one said anything looking to Burgess for the answer, "well should we risk our own lives for another? God gave us these lives for a reason, we aren't the ones who have been placed in danger therefore he must mean for us to go on, mustn't he?"

Harry knew he shouldn't, knew that he should stick to his blend in and don't make a fuss routine however he found his hand in the air before he could stop it. The whole class was looking at him again, many surprised that the kid that barely talked was choosing to voluntarily answer a question. Burgess nodded to him signalling for him to speak, Harry despite being nervous steadied his voice before talking "What about Batman sir?" Burgess was now looking at him in surprise both eyebrows raised "he puts his life on the line every night to save the lives of strangers and he hasn't suffered as a result."

Burgess paused here and seemed to think over his words before speaking once more "so you believe that Batman has the right to put his life on the line?" as he said this he walked closer to Harry who carefully concealed his doodles under another piece of paper. He paused a moment to think about it before giving a small nod. Burgess smiled slightly at the boy before continuing "but what right does he have, he wasn't elected. No one asked him as far as we know to do this."

Harry quickly thought over his teachers words "well what about the police? They weren't elected either." Harry put as much confidence into what he was saying as he looked his teacher firmly in the eye.

"Maybe so but the police work in the law, Batman works outside of it. Don't that make him a criminal?" Burgess was now completely focused on the boy, he had been teaching him for the past year and not once has he got him to open up as much as he is now.

Harry thought back to what his aunt and uncle said about the man, they would often call him a freak or a no good vigilante. Harry knew therefore that he was technically breaking the law but that didn't mean he didn't have the right to help people "he may break the law but he also enforces it."

Burgess nodded slightly in response "maybe so, but does that mean that we should just excuse him from it? His stunts could put more lives at risk rather than save them."

"That's not true!" Harry sat shocked that he had yelled that out, he shrank into himself slightly but he would not let his teacher win this, not after what he had seen last night. "Batman helps those who can't help themselves, he may break the law but that's only so that he can help others. He works outside the police because he can do the things that they can't."

Mr Burgess who had been slightly taken back by the boys outburst smiled slightly at him "so your saying that because he chooses to do what he believes is the right thing, he has the right to put his life on the line?"

Harry gave a small nod at this and Burgess smile grew slightly before he turned to look around the class "what do you guys think? Do you agree or disagree with Mr Potter?"

Many of the children said they agreed, Harry smiled slightly in response to this however it seemed Dudley had to ruin everything "no, I don't agree." All eyes turned to him as he grinned nastily, his arms crossed as he leant back "my mum and dad told me about him losing his kid cause of it. He deserves it for being such a freak, he should leave it to the police."

No one spoke after this; Harry found his thoughts running in circles. 'His kid? What kid?' Burgess noticed that some of the kids looked confused and decided to further elaborate. "You're talking about the death of Robin?" Dudley just shrugged obviously not knowing much himself. "Many of you have probably never heard of him correct?" many of the class nodded still looking confused. Burgess sighed slightly before making his way back to his desk, he sat on the edge slightly "a few years ago Batman didn't work alone, he had a partner. This partner was Robin the boy wonder, believed by many to be Batman's son." Here he paused and watched the class carefully, all of them were giving him their full attention hanging on to his every word. "He was killed around five years ago by the Joker."

Harry stared at his teacher in shock; Batman had once had a partner? His own son to if the rumours were true. Harry tuned his gaze away as his mind ran over what he had just learned. 'Robin?' the name stuck with him as he sat thru the rest of the class, the subject returning back to why people save each other. He barely listened instead trying to figure out why this was bothering him so much. At the end of the day, he left with the other kids but instead of seeking his uncle out he headed towards the park, he needed to clear his head.

As he walked until he came to a bench near the small pond, sitting down he let Mr Burgess' words run over his mind again. _What right does he have, he wasn't elected_ 'who cares if he was elected or not, he stands up to the creeps in this city and no one even thanks him for it, at least the police get on with him'. Harry twiddled his thumbs before himself once more thinking back to the night before, how close that punk had come to actually getting Batman then something occurred to him, 'he has no one to watch his back…'

If what Mr Burgess said was true then the guy had not had anyone to help him for the past five years, he was alone…just like Harry. But, what if he didn't have to be? Harry couldn't believe he was even thinking it and tried to stop himself but the thought was all too tempting to the boy, maybe they could help each other. Maybe…he could become Robin, then Batman would have someone to watch his back and neither of them would have to be alone.

He lifted his gaze to the pond and soon found himself wandering over to it, he stood before the edge looking it to the reflective surface. For the first time in his young life he felt confidant, 'I can help people, I can help Batman' as he thought this a smile made its way onto his face.


	4. First Flight

**Four chapters in one day from me? Everyone run for your lives the world must be coming to an end! Well it is 2012. No I was just off for the day and decided I better get my plot bunnies written off before the make a break from that rats nest I call my brain. Anyway read and review please, I'm looking at you readers who reader but don't click the little button at the bottom of the screen after. **

**Also another little question, can anyone guess who's Robin costume I based Harry's off? If not your all fckin mad. Ha sorry, was watching 'Mrs Browns Boys' while writing this, if you haven't seen it it's on Iplayer and it is fricken hilarious. **

**Disclaimer: *cries* No I don't own Harry Potter….*cries harder, while oice goes slightly high piched* or Batman….*stops crying* so don't sue.**

Chapter 4: First flight

Harry frowned slightly as he looked down at his small bed, lying upon it was a make shift costume he had made from various things found lying around his room. It consisted of a faded red hoody that was slightly too big for him, he had to remove the arms when he found that the sleeves would not stop falling over his hands. That wouldn't be useful in combat.

As such, he had a long sleeved black shirt for underneath, a pair of black pants that he had just managed to grow into –despite the fact that Dudley had fitted into them three years ago. Now this costume hadn't really looked that…dynamic even to the young child, as such he had sneaked into Dudley's play room –or toy room if you wish- and had hunted through the broken remains of plastic for something useful. Half an hour later he had exited with an old dress up cape and mask –from the time when Dudley had wished to be Zorro- as well as a bag full of marbles.

He was now judging the design and trying to decide whether it was to unlike Robins costume to be…well Robin. However as he looked down at it he nodded slightly happy that at least he had some idea of the design of his costume should he wish to improve it.

"Potter! Will you hurry up boy!" Vernon's large voice surprised the young boy who looked toward his old clock which had a tendency no matter how much he reset it to run five minutes slow. The old hands pointed to the nine and fifty minutes…which meant it was five to nine. The boys eyes widened almost comically as he jumped into action, rushing around his room as he threw on a large baggy shirt and a pair of plain black pants, his old sneakers were quickly pulled over his well-worn socks.

As he rushed about he scooped up his costume and quickly dumped it into his backpack, before running for the bedroom door all the while having a small fight with the stubborn zipper which kept jamming and catching his fingers. "Coming uncle Vernon!" he shouted back as he finally locked the bag and shouldered it, running out of his bedroom and down the stairs to find his uncle and a whining Dudley waiting for him.

"What have I told you boy about hurrying up? The next time this happens you can walk to that blasted school, and if the teachers ask why you where late I'll say you were being stubborn" his uncle was scowling a light shade of red colouring his cheeks however, he appeared to be calming down as he turned to walk out of the house.

Harry just muttered a little "yes uncle Vernon" before following after him and Dudley who was now snickering at him.

The journey to school had been quiet as had most of the school day, the only hiccup was of course Dudley and his little gang wanting to Harry hunting at lunch. Harry however had not been in the mood to be chased around, wanting to instead look over his costume again, as such he had quickly made his way out of class when the bell had rang and made his way up to his new hideout on the schools roof. Once there he had once more pulled out his costume, smiling at it as he held it.

This was going to be great.

The faded jumper felt good in his hands like the rest of the costume, it was amazing what just holding these pieces of simple fabric where doing to him. He looked at it with appreciation careful in how he handled it as though afraid it would somehow break if he acted too quickly. A light breeze whisked around him, resulting in a light shiver his hands shaking slightly. Shaking off the feeling, Harry carefully lay the jumper down on the small rocks before reaching around to pull out the rest of his costume. He quickly put it next to the jumper, laying it out in a similar way to earlier, once again examining the costume looking for any flaw. He was quick to find one as he looked at where the sleeves ended.

He did not have any gloves! Groaning he placed his head in his hands, he had seen enough of his aunt's crime shows to know that without gloves he would leave behind fingerprints. 'And there goes my secret identity' he thought to himself, not believing that he forgot one of the most important parts of the suit. Shaking his head slightly he leant back to look at the sky, hoping some kind of inspiration would strike him.

SMACK.

A solid object collided with his face stunning him slightly as he fell back, his face letting off a small throb. He lay there for a moment staring at the sky his hands twitching slightly at his sides as a small "ouch" was let out. He turned his face to watch a white ball rolling over to another part of the roof, one of the other kids must have accidently kicked it up here.

Sitting up he held his face in his hands and glared at the offending object, rubbing his bruising flesh in small circles as he tried to lessen the ache. Pouting slightly Harry just stared at the ball, listening slightly to see if he could identify who the kicker was. His answer came a few minutes later when he heard a large shout of "Perkins ya idiot!" recognising the voice as Dudley's, he must have given up the Harry hunting.

A loud whistle cut the air signalling the end of lunch much to his annoyance, the boy sighed slightly as he collected his costume once more this time carefully folding it before placing it in his bag. After this he rushed back down the building and to class, he was approaching the door however he paused lying on one of the coat racks was Dudley's bag. He eyed it carefully before looking around himself slightly, checking that no one was around before approaching the bag.

He carefully unzipped it and fished through its contents, Dudley's new wool gloves were buried at the bottom. Looking around once more he pulled them out before quickly stuffing them into his own, zipping the it back up quickly before re zipping Dudley's bag and hurrying to class. The rest of the day passed quickly enough, Harry's mind easily wandering back to day dreams of jumping from roof tops and beating criminals.

The end of the day could not come quick enough Harry rushing out with the other children, however rather than going to meet Dudley and his uncle he instead headed for the narrows. He knew that Vernon would not wait around for him so he had no worries; he knew these streets well from his various explorations. He had become even better aquatinted with them during out of school Harry hunting sessions. As such Harry knew every alleyway as well as every hiding spot, he had even befriended a few of the homeless people here. They were surprisingly nice; one in particular called Jack would often share tales of his youth with Harry over some of Harry's lunch.

As such, Harry felt surprisingly at ease as he walked these streets, his small frame and darker clothing allowing him to blend in better then would be expected from someone who did not originate from these streets. He quickly made his way to his regular hiding spot, a derelict apartment building that had been boarded up for many years, he had found a gap in one of the old boards which led to a large room, it was cold and dark but had proved an effective shelter from the rain. Not long after this, he returned with a new board that he used to hide the entrance.

The room was large bigger than even his room, and had an old beaten couch as well as an old mattress both of which had already been there when he found the place. Both objects had become damp over the years and smelled somewhat fowl however, he tended to ignore it and still use both. Crossing the room was a thin blue rope, which hung like a washing line along it however, where three torches all switched off at the moment. He had managed to separately sneak them from the Dursley's, even fooling his uncle into believing that they had broken and been thrown in the trash.

Three blankets lay at random intervals around the room and while they were not exactly thick, they still offered some warmth when it got to chilly for the young boy. These had also been liberated at one point from the Dursley household, not that they were missed as they had been in the process of being thrown away themselves. He had come to greatly appreciate them during winter, he was not sure he would have survived without them.

Harry quickly made his way into the 'den' as he liked to call it, being careful to more the board back in front of the entrance after he had entered he made his way over to his torches. He lit them before allowing himself to fall back onto the mattress that lay directly behind him, as usual, it was damp however, it did not bother him in the least and he allowed himself to relax upon it for a few seconds. After a few seconds, he reopened his eyes and sat up pulling his backpack to him pulling out his costume once more, he stared at it for a moment before standing and removing his clothes. He dressed in his new costume tying that cape and mask tightly to keep the lighter weight materials in place.

He span round but found the hood of his jumper slightly uncomfortable pinned to his back by the cape, fiddling with it a moment he pulled it above the cape and allowed it fall on top of it. Comfortable now the boy span round enjoying how the cape and the rest of the costume felt, the mask however was slightly bothersome, as it did not feel very secure.

Ignoring this he let out a small laugh and flexed his arms trying to find any other restrictions in the suit, finding none he gave another small laugh as he jumped up onto the couch and quickly off again springing to different parts of the room. He stopped a few minutes later and rushed back to his bag, pulling out the small pouch of marbles, which clacked slightly as he placed them in the pocket of his jumper.

Smiling he made his way to the entrance moving the plank to see if there was anyone around, he found the alleyway empty. Moving swiftly the small boy slipped out placing the plank back across the entrance, once more looking around before heading off towards the alleys dead end. The dead end had an old fire escape fastened to it; the metal was rusted however, it was strong and held under his weight as he had climbed on it. He quickly scaled it finding his gloves causing him to lose his grip rather than strengthen it. However, he continued and soon reached the roof, the large expanse stretched before him as the sky gradually darkened in the backdrop.

He paused for only a moment a smile playing upon his lips before he took off, pushing his legs to move as fast as possible, quickly coming to the edge of the building, he jumped arms stretched out at his sides. He gasped slightly as he landed on the opposing roof his legs slightly jarred from the impact, however he didn't let this deter him and started to run once more, checking with one hand that his marbles hadn't fell out of his jumper.

He continued in this fashion for half an hour, his excitement keeping him energetic and hopeful. He was slightly deterred however when he had to keep changing directions or backtrack to previous roofs as the jump proved to be too much for him. Despite this, he kept moving hoping to come across someone in need soon.

He got his wish when he heard a sharp scream; he quickly looked around himself trying to locate exactly where it came from. Minutes later, there was another scream and some desperate cries for help, Harry found them to be coming from behind him and quickly made his way there. He stopped at the roofs edge crouching he looked over to see a young woman slowly backing away from two burly men. He could hear the woman begging for help, and found himself greatly angered when the two men just snickered in reply. Wasting no more time and trying to ignore how high up he was Harry jumped straightening his legs as he fell, moments later he landed on one of the men's shoulders and kicked off as he fell forward. He skidded slightly as he landed, his legs trembling slightly below him as he tried not to show how amazed he was that the move he had just pulled worked.

The other man just stared at him in confusion, his friend picking himself up from the ground. Harry felt a wave of nervous energy take him but refused to allow it to control him, choosing instead to stand straight with his arms at his sides as he smirked at the two men "I believe the lady asked you to leave her alone."

The men suddenly became enraged one of them even growled at him, "why you little-"

Suddenly they were charging at him forgetting about their prey for the moment as they swung at the young child. Harry for the first time in his life felt grateful to Dudley, due to his many games of Harry hunting the boy had learned how to dodge very effectively over the year. His reactions were also honed to the point where he was able to doge the multiple blows from both men and slide out of their range through one of his attacker legs. The men paused here breathing heavily as they slowly turned to face him, Harry allowing himself to back up slightly. As he did this he felt his foot bang into something and looked down to find a mettle pole lying there.

Thinking fast he quickly swiped it up as the two men charged once more, in reaction, he started to doge in and out once more his eyes keeping track of the men. Then an opening appeared as one over reached and began to fall forward, Harry moved to his side and wacked the pole across his temple with as much force as he could handle. The man was unconscious before he hit the ground.

The other male became even more enraged a his and charged at Harry once more, the boy thinking fast dropped to the floor and kicked up just as the man ran over him catching him in the genitals. The man's face screwed up as he fell forward a pained gasp escaping his mouth he looked up just in time to see the metal pole heading for his face, then everything went dark for him.

"Nighty…night…" Harry panted as he stood over the men, both were out cold and didn't look to be waking up anytime soon much to the boys relief. "It's ok Ma'am they won't…" as he said this he was turning around to face the lady he saved only to find he gone, 'she must have taken off during the fight' he thought to himself.

Sighing the boy shook his head slightly before going about finding another fire escape, soon he was on the roofs once more racing across them with his new weapon clutched tightly in his hand.


	5. The Big Bad Bat

**Yay another chapter, don't expect it to always be like this I'm usually crap at updating. **

**Seriously people I had 899 views last night and I still have only three reviews, the next chapter (which I am currently working on) isn't going up until I get five more. Thank you again to those of you who have bothered to review.**

**Disclaimer: I had a dream once where I owned Batman and Harry Potter…sadly it was just that so don't sue.**

Chapter 5: The big bad bat

The days passed quickly for Harry and soon the weekend was over much to the boy's disappointment, however he didn't let the return to school deter his nightly escapades. He had worked a new routine into his life and stuck to it as much as possible. He would go to school then return home to do his chores and eat, then around seven he would go to his room get changed and sneak out the window. It wasn't like the Dursley's cared enough to check if he was missing.

After this he would make his way to the narrows, he had considered moving on to the rest of the city however he came to the conclusion that it would be too much of a hassle to try and make it there on school nights. Therefore come the weekend he would make a brief stop at the Den before heading out there, soon finding the rest of the city to be a hassle with its varying rooftops and very few fire escapes.

Before he knew it, two weeks had passed and he had found himself constantly looking forward to the night time and the adventure it brought with it. Mr Burgess had become worried when his grades declined slightly but had seemed pleased that Harry seemed to be happier. And Harry was happy, he was happier than he had been in a long time. He felt like finally he was making a difference, that he was doing something good with his life.

Harry barely noticed how he changed when he put on his costume, he did not truly take in how much more confidence wearing it gave him. During fights, he became cockier and would often infuriate his opponents in to attacking, and therefore leaving openings for him to exploit. As he ran across rooftops, he became more daring and would use vents like springboards, bouncing off them and not caring if he had anything to land on. When he put the costume on it seemed like he could do anything that the world no longer held any limits for him.

It did of course as many of his bruises would attest to, he just did not truly care about what the world could do to him anymore. The metal pole from his first fight had remained with him and had become a useful tool in his nightly runs, as had his marbles that he had used for various purposes. Over the nights, he had stopped many crimes, muggings mostly but it seemed that he had started to leave an impression upon the crooks many of whom refused to confess to the police that they had been brought down by a child.

Some fights he had found easy using surprise as well as his height to his advantage, however it appeared that some of those he came across had previous run ins with Batman. These criminals while not smarter were more experienced in how to handle the surprise, many of them had landed blows upon him. As such he had to change his tactics when facing them, and would lean heavily on using the bar when doing so.

He had also taken to carrying his 'equipment' round with him, his costume safely tucked away in his ruck sack that never left his side unless in class. He figured carrying it around with him would lessen the chance of him missing a chance to stop a crime, that and he found himself becoming greatly attached to his new identity. Now doodles of his own costume had appeared next to the ones of the Dark Knight, they were standing side by side him grinning and the other scowling. Pictures of actual Robins had also been added, often with the words 'the boy wonder' written beneath.

However after two weeks the young boy found himself slightly disheartened at the fact he had yet to meet Batman, it appeared that after that night he hadn't returned to the narrows instead keeping to the main part of the city. At least that's what Harry thought, for all he knew the Dark Knight could be nowhere near the city. Becoming impatient he had taken to stretching his nights out, partly looking for crime and partly looking for Batman.

The same went for this night as he ran across the roof tops of the narrows, his usual route often brought up many crimes. He jumped his legs already bent as he partly landed on a vent of some kind, springing off it moments later onto a new roof only meters away. He had been out here for the past two hours and had yet to run into any trouble, and as such was feeling frustrated.

He continued in this fashion for another five minutes before deciding to take a break, his legs aching from the strain he was putting on them. He bent over slightly as he tried to catch his breath, his pole clutched tightly in his tired hand as he took quick shallow breaths. When he felt his heart calm slightly he stood up and walked to the roofs edge sitting with his legs dangling from it, he looked up at the main city.

Unlike the narrows which was often quiet with the exception of some buildings, the main city constantly looked to be alive with movement. It was well lit on the streets and had various GPD blimps casting light upon various rooftops; it looked almost like a welcoming place if not for the gothic structures that towered over it.

Harry sighed slightly as he leaned back on his hands and looked at the sky above it, boredly noting that by the looks of the clouds it was most likely going to rain. He shut his eyes and listened the sounds of cats in alleys taking up most of the air, there was nothing-

Suddenly an alarm blared into life and he found himself sitting up looking toward a small shop across from where he was sitting, moments later a teenager ran out of it in his hands a gun. Seconds after that an old Chinese man followed him out yelling for help, the empty streets offering none.

'Robbery, huh?' Harry thought to himself as he stood up, backing off the edge to get some momentum before jumping to the next roof top, following after the teen. The teen didn't stop running until two blocks away, his back to the wall of an alleyway as he breathed heavily. Harry crouched down on the ledge above him and watched carefully, he didn't look like he had done this before. Heck he didn't look like he had stolen anything, if anything the guy looked…scared.

'Maybe kicking his ass isn't the best tactic…' looking around Harry saw a fire escape set into one of the walls, maybe he could scare the guy straight. He made his way onto it and as quietly as possible climbed down to the middle, knowing all too well the guy will be listening out for any sounds. Once there he sat on the edge wanting to appear casual and in control, that would hopefully dissuade the guy from firing at him.

"You know…" he began keeping his voice perfectly level and without a hint of a threat, the teens head snapping up and looking at him with fear at first, which slowly morphed into confusion "I think that old guy might have been more scared then you."

The teen just stared for a moment before standing up straight, his shaking forcefully stopped as he turned a glare on Harry "what's it to ya?"

Harry narrowed his eyes at that; this wasn't going like he had hoped "I don't like people who hurt of scare others for no reason."

The teens eyes widened momentarily before he looked down at his hand, the gun still tightly clenched there. He then looked back at Harry his face looking almost panicked "I didn't wanna hurt nobody, the old man should have just given me the cash."

Harry watched him carefully, noting that he had begun to shake once more "so he didn't?" He needed to see the bigger picture here before he took action, maybe he hadn't robbed the place at all.

"No…no but if he had the I…then I…" he paused here his eyes wide with terror as he stared at Harry. "I didn't mean to…it was an accident…"

Harry just watched confusion clear on his face, what was the guy talking about? He had obviously tried to rob the place, the Chinese man he had seen had tried to stop him so why was he panicking so much. He then thought back to what had been said moments before, _I didn't wanna hurt nobody._ The old man hadn't been hurt but he was yelling for help, so maybe someone in the shop had been.

"You shot someone." It wasn't a question.

The punk backed up slightly at the comment his shaking growing, "I didn't mean to…if they had just gave me what I wanted…"

Harry was torn he didn't know what to do in this situation, the guy was obviously hadn't meant to do it so should he take him down or not? As well as this there was the possibility that someone was bleeding to death in a shop and the longer he took to the decide the longer he wasn't there to help.

"Look I know you didn't mean to, but that doesn't mean I can let you go" he tried to explain but as he did the guy stared at him in fear, before lifting the shaking gun to point it at Harry.

"I aint going to prison…not for nobody" as he said this he let off two shot, both missed by miles thanks to his shaking. However he didn't stick around to see if they had hit and took of once more.

Harry who was right at that moment thanking God that the guy couldn't shoot properly, quickly made his way back to the rooftop following after him. He watched as he ran wildly below, knocking over garbage cans and nearly colliding with parked cars. He was ahead of the boy by a building and had just turned the corner as Harry leapt onto the roof, he ran to the edge to find the guy gone. He looked around and back tracked but couldn't pick up where he had disappeared to, after ten minutes of this Harry knew he was gone.

He cursed at himself for being so stupid, he should have taken the guy down when he first caught up to him. Now for all he knew the guy could be anywhere, and could have killed an innocent-

At this he remembered about the Chinese man and the victim, turning around he dashed across the roof tops and back to the shop. He arrived just as an ambulance pulled up in front of it, the paramedics ruching inside. Minutes later they exited with an old woman on a gurney, the Chinese man at her side as they loaded her into the vehicle.

Harry watched it go, a feeling of guilt within his stomach. He looked away moments later before taking off again deciding to call it a night. He had just jumped off the roof of the edge when he found a large burly arm wrapping around his middle, he let out a shout of surprise as he was carried to the next roof top.

Before they landed the figure dropped him onto it, forcing him to roll as he landed. He let out a small moan as he came to a stop, regaining his bearings before twisting around his pole at the ready to find Batman staring down at him from a few feet away. He lowered the bar slightly as he stared open mouthed at the man, who was glaring at him.

"What do you think you're doing?" the voice was deep and gravely, sending a wave of fear down Harry's spine as he watched the man. He sounded angry, the tone he used demanding an answer as his he stood in the shadows.

Harry was scared no doubt about that, but he had been looking for the man for the past two weeks. He knew of course when he explained Batman of course would be angry, but he would not let the man scare him off, he would not let fear guide him anymore. "I'm helping people, like you."

The man watched him before taking a step forward, his height and build even more intimidating now. "Go home. Now." He had ground the sentence out, before turning as though to leave.

Harry stared up at him in shock, go home? Why should he, he hadn't done anything wrong. He had been trying to help, and for the most part he had even if he had failed tonight. The other man was just dismissing him, like he was an unruly child who didn't know what he was doing. Greatly angered by this Harry watched the man turn before saying a firm resolute "no."

Batman paused in his movements, turning back to face the boy as a snarl played upon his lips "what did you say?"

Harry knew this was a challenge, he stood up straight his arms at his side with the pole tightly grasped within his hand. "I said no."

Batman stared at him for a moment before speaking once more, sounding even angrier despite his voice having stayed at the same height. "Who do you think you are? This isn't a game"

Harry glared back at the man, his body was trembling slightly from fear but he wouldn't let it deter him. "I'm Robin, and I'm not some kid you can push around" Batman appeared to actually recoil slightly as he said his name, but by the time he had finished speaking the scowl was back in place. "I know it's not a game, its why I haven't treated it like one since I began." Not entirely true, but Batman didn't need to know that.

For a moment Batman said nothing, instead he just watched the boy "give it up." The sentence was said quietly and Harry barely caught it, it held no emotion in it.

"What?"

"Give it up, you're out of your league kid" as he said this the man's voice slowly returned to its previous state, the comment made with conviction. "You need to quit while you still can."

Harry just stood there stunned by the man's words, out of his league? At this a snarl of his own on his face, his body was shaking still only now in anger "I've been doing this for the past few weeks and I'm still fine, so what the heck do you know about what I'm capable of?" He hadn't meant to shout it, but that's how it had come out.

Batman said nothing as he watched him, his face showing no emotion to the response. When his words granted no reaction Harry felt his anger build even more so, his pole painfully digging into his hand.

"I know what I'm doing, I chose to put _my_ life on the line to do it and I won't let anyone- even you change my mind!" He had shouted this also while he stood there, glaring deep into the white slits that were Batman's eyes "I did this to help others, to help you! And I am not going to give up because you don't think I'm capable!"

Batman again didn't react, instead he appeared to think over the boys words. Moments later his eyes narrowed, his weight shifted slightly "you will quit, or I'll make you." After this was said he turned once more to the edge, pulling out his grapple which quickly launched and snagged on a nearby building. "It's your choice" was the last thing he said before he swung off, leaving the boy alone on the roof top.

Harry watched him go before running to the edge of the roof, watching as the man slowly disappeared into the night.


	6. Conflicting Thoughts

**Chapter six is finished! And thank you for the reviews, chapter 7 may be up tonight, not too sure as I'm planning to go back and edit the previous chapters.**

**Thank you to ****Wingsoffate**** who pointed out some obvious mistakes in the fifth chapter, I've gone back and edited them out.**

**Wingsoffate****: Thank you for being so honest in your review, and sorry about the review threat *scratches back of head sheepishly* I've been ill for the last few days so I'm a little cranky. Also can you read minds or something? I was half way through the chapter when I got your review and I was like well there goes the surprise. Again thank you, and don't worry I am going to try to keep this story as believable as possible. The Robin that died was Jason Todd who comes after Dick Grayson in the time line; this fic will eventually tie into the Under the Red Hood film along with some of DC's new animated films. It may also tie into young justice, if it does there will be minor alterations and such to adapt it to fit the story. By the way if you haven't seen 'Under the Red Hood' yet, I definitely recommend it to you it's one of the better animated Batman films. Also thank you for your offer to beta, I'm in the process of shifting the plot around at the moment so some chapters are labelled wrong and such but if you're still interested let me know.**

**Sivy:**** Thank you for your kind words, don't worry I was planning on putting a chapter up today even if I didn't get the reviews. I'm not good at holding to threats…**

**Natasha****: I know what you mean, I've waited for months for someone to write one, but they never do. Thought it was about time I took things into my own hands, I really hope you like it. **

**Heather Thistle:**** Don't worry the guy will appear later on in the story, but not for a while yet. As for the accidental magic, that will be coming up soon however it will not be integrated into his crime fighting at least not until later.**

**Starberry: ****Thank you for the review.**

**Lizieaxes: ****Thank you, magic will eventualy be incorporated into the story however I'm leaning more to it being later on with the occasional spout of accidental. The sequel I'm planning will be focusing on when Harry goes to Hogwarts and will be more to do with the magic side of things.**

**Dreamless-sleep777:**** Read on and see ;)**

**Matjes: ****There will be magic but not in a great amount, the sequel will focus more around it then this story will. This story is more to do with how Harry becomes Robin and the challenges he has to face as he begins his career, I'm also trying to focus more on building a relationship between him and Batman.**

**Okay, all reviews out of the way and on to the story.**

**Dislaimer: Do I look like J. or Bob Kane? No? Then I obviously didn't create nor own these wonderful franchises.**

Chapter 6: Conflicting thoughts

He landed a few roof tops away, far out of the child's or anyone else's sight. He stood there silently watching the boy who still remained upon the rooftop his own face downcast yet still angered. As he watched his own feelings of rage began to bubble back up to the surface, his arms trembling slightly as his fist clenched tightly.

_I'm Robin and I'm not some kid you can push around_ he unconsciously flinched as the words came back to him a wave of pain and guilt following it. He hadn't heard that name in a while, Alfred trying as much as possible to avoid mentioning the incident or its victim. Even so he had a constant reminder of his failure displayed within the cave, it stood in plain view and served to remind him of what he had lost.

Robin the boy wonder, his friend, his partner, his son.

'Jason…' as the name rolled into his mind he felt a prickling sensation behind his eyes, a warning that tears were trying to escape. He did not let them, now was not the time to get sentimental not while he had work to do. He shook himself slightly trying to break away from his thoughts however they clung to him, unwilling to be shoved back to the recesses of his mind.

The whole incident had been his fault, he should have been better prepared, should have known better then to get the boy involved. He had thought he was doing some good in it, believed that he could help Jason master his potential like he had for Dick. It had worked to a degree the boy becoming a fearsome fighter who wanted to help those less fortunate. However, he had always lacked patience and had a tendency to run into situations head first never truly thinking about the consequences before it was too late.

Batman blamed himself for this; if he had trained the boy better if he had just taught him control then none of this would have ever happened. Jason would still be alive.

But he hadn't and as a result the boy had underestimated the situation, underestimated Joker. His death was a consequence of Batman's failure to teach him, his failure to change the boy's nature.

Batman had never fooled himself, when he had taken the boy in he knew he was dangerous. One of the main reasons he had made him into Robin was to prevent him from becoming a criminal, to prevent him from doing harm. He had been more worried about what danger he could pose then the danger being Robin posed to him.

His eyes clenched shut and he found himself crouching, his fists now trembling as the tears fought to escape. If he had just paid more attention, if he had just known better then…

Then nothing, he could not change the past no matter how much he wanted to. Jason was gone; he had been too late to save him no amount of weeping or dreaming would bring him back. He could not allow himself to drown in the 'what if's' his life often presented him. No, he could not take back his mistakes, all he could do was learn from them and make sure that he did not repeat them.

He opened his eyes, the boys form once more coming into view from his perch. The child had yet to move and looked to be brooding himself, sadness etched on what Batman could see of his face. He would not make the same mistake again; he would not bring another child into this life. He watched as the boy finally seemed to gather himself, his small figure soon running across the roof into the opposite direction.

As he watched the boy jump across the roof a memory forcefully made its way to the forefront of his mind.

"Ha ha" a young child's voice, Batman looked to his left seeing himself fly through the air on a grapple. Next to him, a small boy decked out in green red and yellow. A smile tugged at his lips as he watched the boy flip, a smile on the child's own face as he sprang off an old building flipping once more in the process.

He watched long after the memory faded, the image sticking with him. He slowly turned his head back to the direction the young boy he had been watching had left, his mind racing with conflicting thoughts.

Jason had loved being Robin; he had loved the attention and the praise he got for it. But mostly he had loved helping others, it was the same goal that drove Batman himself and he had related to the boy. He had seen the pain in Jason's eyes as he had when he took Dick in, the same pain he had seen in his own eyes when he was just a child. And now he had seen it in yet another child, one who was at the moment proving to be painfully similar to Jason.

His attitude, the way he had held himself how he had addressed Batman. Everything screamed it. The boy was stubborn and seemed to be hot tempered, though from what Batman had seen he could partially control himself. And even though he tried to stop himself, he couldn't help thinking that the boy had potential. If he was to be believed then he had been doing this for a number of weeks, Batman had known this before the boy told him. One of his snitches had been taken out by the kid and had confessed to Batman who had brought him in, that had been a week ago.

He had come to the Narrows then but had been unable to find the child, he had believed the man to be lying until last night another criminal he had been tracking had been taken down and arrested. The man was more tight lipped then the other but had told Batman pretty much the same thing.

He had headed here tonight believing it to be another wild goose chase only to find the boy running across rooftops. Thinking about it, the ease he ran with also gave away the fact that he had been doing this for a while. That meant that the kid could hold his own, maybe-

No. Batman shook his head trying to rid it of its conflicting thoughts, this was not a game. He could not let a little kid run around playing hero, not again.


	7. Teamwork?

**Okay guys here chapter 7, I know that the chapters for this story have so far been really short but don't worry, from now on I'm going to make it so that all chapters have at least 3,000 words in them. Thank you to those of you who reviewed I hope you like this chappy.**

**Dreamless-sleep777:**** Harry will be the third Robin but will be using the fifths costume, as for Tim Drake he will appear in the sequel however he will not become Robin. But that doesn't mean he won't be another vigilante ;)**

**Disclaimer: I once travelled to an alternate universe where I owned Harry Potter and Batman, and let me tell you it was wonderful. However I sadly returned to this one where I do not own either *cries* so don't sue**

**Edit: I went through and corrected some mistakes that Heather Thistle was nice enough to point out, thank you.**

Chapter 7: Teamwork?

A few days later found Harry in the narrows once more, he was sat currently in the Den brooding. That's right, the boy was brooding. He was conflicted over the previous night's events, as well as Batman himself. He still idolised the man, however he was angry at him for what he said.

He was angrier with himself though for what he had said back. He had seen the flinch when he said his new identity, seen the pain that had briefly flashed across those features. He had hurt the man despite having no intentions of doing so, and as a result, he was being plagued by guilt. He had not meant to shout at the man, heck he had hoped to explain things to him in a civil way. Nevertheless, he had shouted, he couldn't change that.

Harry shifted slightly as he thought back to that face, and all his anger washed away for a moment as guilt fully consumed him as it had the night before soon after the Dark Knight had left. He couldn't believe how forward he had been when he said the name, it had seemed like he was rubbing it in Batman's face. If Robin had been the man's son, or even just his partner it must greatly hurt him when someone mentions him. Harry knew this as he felt the same way about his own parents, he knew practically nothing about them and could not remember them however, he still felt a large void whenever they were mentioned. A painful emptiness that could not be filled.

Batman was probably the same, or even worse, off since he had known Robin before he died.

He growled slightly to himself and banged his head lightly against one of his knees "stupid. Stupid. Stupid." He rocked slightly and felt a feeling of loneliness settle within his stomach, he had probably blown any chance he had of working with the man.

He sighed before uncurling himself, his body feeling tired and heavy despite having not been used much that day. He sat for a moment unmoving, his eyes unfocused as he attempted to calm his racing mind. A few moments later it had calmed enough for him to concentrate once more, his thoughts returning to the problem with his and Batman's situation.

He wasn't going to give up being Robin despite how guilty he felt for how he had announced it. He loved it, loved helping people, loved the thrill it gave him. The power. He had never been in control before, his life was usually dictated by his family, his aunt and uncle at home and Dudley in school. He just couldn't get away from them, he felt like he was a prisoner to his own home.

He snorted slightly at the thought 'some home…' his family did not care about him they never had. Back in England, he had not even had a room; they had just shoved him not a cupboard under the stairs. Luckily, the new home had not had one; however, his uncle had considered sticking him in the attic for a while. They treated him like a slave most days giving him endless chores and the like; yet they were not as bad as they could have been. He had seen kids from abused homes and understood that compared to them he had a great situation with a family that just ignored his existence.

Despite this he hadn't gone out for the last few days, unconsciously doubting himself thanks to the Dark Knights words. He had felt even emptier during this time, his life seemingly dragging on with no direction to it. The young boy had felt more lost then he ever had before. He had tried to keep occupied, using his time to finish homework and read text books but none of it mattered to him, none of it made a slight bit of difference. He had taken to returning to the Narrows every day, ignoring his chores and spending his time in the Den the empty feeling never leaving.

After days of doing nothing he had decided to look into how the gunshot victim was, he had gone to the shop as himself to find the distressed old man sat in an old wooden chair looking broken and detached. Apparently, the victim had been his wife, she had died in A&E during the early hour of that morning. The old man had been crying, his eyes looking dead to anyone who bothered to look. Harry had actually tried to comfort the man, however he was heavily unresponsive and would say nothing other than "Mary's dead."

He had repeated it like a mantra as he sat there, his body trembling as he stared at nothing. Harry had done his best, even gone up to the man's flat above the shop to get him a blanket but nothing had worked. Soon after the man had fallen asleep, unresponsive to the boy and the world around him, Harry had stayed until he was sure the man would not wake. He had then gone over to the door and turned around the open sign to closed, before leaving.

He had wanted to help, that is why he had started doing this. But his failure that night brought the world into sharp relief to him, if he wanted to do this he was going to have to try harder. He needed to be stronger to be better, wiser in how he handled a situation. He needed to make sure that what happened the night before never happened again, not while he was there to stop it.

He wanted this, he wanted to be Robin. And he would be, with or without the approval of Batman. He stood up and made his way over to his bag, quickly pulling out his costume and changing. He grabbed his weapons, securing the marble pouch within his pocket and adjusting his grip on the metal bar before making his way to the entrance. He would prove to the Dark Knight that he could hold his own, and he would prevent another tragedy from happening.

He raced off out into the night, once again taking his usual route. Soon he was on the rooftops his small body weaving its way across as he kept a sharp ear out for trouble. At the same time he felt frustrated in his movements, finding ways to criticise every move he made from how he jumped to how he ran. He had only been going for twenty minutes when he heard the sounds of gunfire.

He stopped immediately searching out the sound with his ears, 'left!' he turned quickly jumping across the roof tops until he came to an old street that was usually occupied with homeless people. Bin fires where the only source of light here and served to cast moving shadows upon everything they touched, multiple card board boxes littering it serving as shelter to the people who livedhere. He looked down expecting to see a gang of some sort waiting for him, there was but it appeared that someone had beaten him here, as all the members lay unconscious on the ground tied together by a thick cable. He blinked surprised that someone had beat him here while carefully looking over the street, he couldn't see anyone.

He felt a slight nervous tension drop onto his stomach but chose to ignore it in favour of looking over the unconscious men; they did not look like locals. Harry had been here long enough to recognise the signs, their faces were to perfect, hands to relaxed, faces to calm. No one who lived in the Narrow's was so…healthy looking. Their clothes were also a giveaway, they had rips and tears but they were to clean. As Harry observed them he noted that there were none of the locals around, the people who usually lived here where all gone.

'Weird…' as he thought this he took one last glance over the area, before backing away from the edge. He would head to another homeless area, see if the people had headed there for the night. As he took one step back preparing to swivel his body around he found himself suddenly stopped by a hard body.

Harry froze his limbs going stiff as he unconsciously gulped, a shiver of fear racing up his spine. After a few moments in which neither moved Harry carefully glanced over his shoulder, to find the shadowed figure glaring down at him. Harry didn't know how to react, he had not seen the man since their last meeting only days prior and now he was standing right behind him.

"I told you to go home." Harry jumped slightly as the man spoke; the ominous growl was back along with the barely restrained anger. The boy flinched slightly at that but tried to hide it as he carefully turned his body to face the man, his pole clutched tightly in his right hand.

He took a deep breath before he replied, his eyes narrowing as he looked up at the tall hulking figure hidden in shadow. "And I told you I wasn't going to quit" as he said this he found himself crossing his arms, his legs somehow keeping him steady as he faced the man.

Batman was not happy with his reply as the actual growl he gave off would attest to, but he didn't move instead he continued to glare down at the boy through the white slits of his cowl. "Go home."

Harry glared right back at the man, his mouth making a firm line similar to the man before him "no." As he said this a slight breeze brushed passed the two whipping their capes in the wind, Harry's more dramatically due to the lighter fabric. He felt the breeze attack his body but he refused to allow himself to shiver, instead keeping his body firmly still.

The Dark Knight didn't seem to notice as he took a step toward the boy, the shadows sliding off him slightly to show parts of his chin and mouth. The snarl was also back and Harry found himself feeling a slight edge of fear as he looked at it, "I told you-"

Whatever the Dark Knight was about to say was sharply cut off by a large explosion to their right, both instantly whipped around Harry's arms dropping to his sides to see it was coming from an old building a few streets away. Harry stared at it a moment before finally his brain identified exactly what it was, horror joining the slight tendrils of fear in his belly. "That's the homeless shelter!"

Batman barely glanced at him, instead he fished into his belt pulling out his grapple as he looked toward the building. "Stay here!" as he said this he began to move toward the edge quickly jumping and launching the grapple as he went.

"No wait!" Harry ran to the edge himself, his hand stretched out as if to stop the man, he reached it too late, as the man was already gone, "I can help…"

Harry stood there for a moment before he glanced at the fire, it was getting larger and quickly. As he watched one thought raced through his mind 'Jack…' his old homeless friend often stayed at the shelter when there was a bed free, he could be trapped right now. Harry looked away slightly, Batman had told him to stay here but what if Jack was in trouble he couldn't just abandon the man. He took another deep breathe to steady himself before looking up once more a determined look on his face. He quickly found a route and jumped across the roof tops, keeping his body low to increase his speed. He made it there in record time, his breathing slightly harsh as he stood on a roof opposite to the building.

The streets where in chaos, the police and the fire brigade trying to calm the panicking crowd. The building luckily was not enclosed; it had been set off slightly from its neighbours with two alleyways on either side. However there wasn't that much distance, as such the buildings on either side both of which were apartments had been evacuated. Harry looked over the crowd and could spot some of the people from the shelter however; he did not see Jack or Batman. Looking up he spotted movement in one of the alleys as a door to the shelter opened, two figures were moving however, they were moving in the opposite direction of where the ambulances had been set up.

Harry quietly debated to himself as he watched them get further away, Jack could still be trapped in the building heck Batman could be trapped for all he knew. But those figures, his gut was screaming that something was wrong with them. He shook his head slightly before making a decision, he would leave the fire department to deal with the shelter, he needed to find out what those two were up to. He dropped down from the roof using a ladder set in the side before carefully making his way around the crowd he made it to the back of the shelter to see the two figures walking casually down the road. He growled to himself as he followed them, carefully concealing himself as he followed. As he followed he got a good look at the two and had a brief flash back to earlier when he had seen the men on the homeless street, they dressed in the same manner.

They came to a stop after a few turns, a plain white van parked at the entrance of an alleyway. They opened the back and he caught a glance of an old petrol can as it was tossed into the back, the two quietly chatting to one another as they closed the van door. 'Petrol…that can be used to start fires…' he remembered back to his science class where the teacher had referred to it as an excellent. No, that wasn't it. Maybe an accelerator…no that wasn't it either, he growled to himself as he shoved the thought away. It did not matter, what mattered was that they may have been the two to start the fire.

They were just about to climb in the van when he moved, carefully fishing into his marble bag he pulled out one before throwing it from his hiding spot. It flew perfectly and smacked into the back of one mans head, said man let out a small yelp as his hands went to the spot his companion stopping to see what was wrong.

"You ok?"

"No, something bloody hit me" as he said this he looked around, his eyes finding the marble after a few moments "what the-"

His question was cut off as Harry jumped from his hiding spot, his pole already mid swing as he aimed at the mans surprised face. The hit took the man by surprise and he fell back as blood gushed from his nose, his friend had been momentarily surprised but had brushed it off quickly enough to reach for a gun hidden in his jacket.

He opened fire quickly Harry was forced to roll out of the way and take shelter behind the van, he held his pole tightly to him as he glanced beneath trying to find the man's position. He saw his feet moving to where he was hidden and looked up at the van as a plan formed in his mind.

The man had just reached the end of the van, clutching his gun tightly in his own hands as he took a deep breath before he turned pointing his gun at the spot Harry had vacated only moments before. The man's eyes widened in surprise, before Harry suddenly dropped down from the vans roof using his pole to knock the gun away. The man let out a shout in replay before aiming a punch at him, Harry barley back stepped it in time, careful of his footing as he jumped away. The man let out a shout and went to follow, only to lose his own footing as he slipped on the marbles Harry had left there. He landed hard and let out a pained grunt as some of the little glass ball dug into his back, Harry quickly ran to the man and delivered a blow to the face rendering him unconscious.

Harry let out a sigh of relief his guard dropping slightly, before hearing a distinct metallic click from behind, he turned to find the other man holding a gun at him. The man was now sporting a broken nose which was oozing blood, a grimace firmly in place upon his face. "Stupid brat" as he said this he pulled on the trigger, the gun perfectly aimed at the boy.

As this happened Harry felt himself panic, his eyes shutting as though to block out the fact that he was about to die. He didn't want to die, he never had wanted to he just wanted to make a difference. As he thought this a wave of something rolled through his body and into his stiffening limbs, with his eyes closed he didn't see the bullet deflect off an invisible shield nor the wave of energy that slammed into the man and caused him to fall back slightly. He didn't open them until something within him whispered 'now.'

He snapped his eyes open and found the man still off balance, taking his chance he ran forward and jumped up delivering another blow to the man's already damaged face. The man fell back unconscious with a small cut on his forehead. Harry looked around himself, checking there were no more before falling to his knee's as his breathing was heavily laboured his whole body feeling sore and tired as the energy fled. "what…was…that…?"

He was just regaining his bearings when there was another explosion this one from behind him, he stood up swaying slightly as he looked in the directions. From where he was standing he couldn't tell where it was, but he knew it was close. He could also hear shouting and the sounds of running. His instincts once more screamed at him, and he listened as he climbed to the top of the van, lying down upon it to allow his cape to disguise him in the shadows.

"Hurry!" one of the voices yelled, two more figures appearing from an alleyway in front of him as they ran toward the van.

"Where's Carl and Marky?" the other shouted as they got closer, his voice sounding panicked and laboured due to his breathing.

"Who cares? Just get in the van?" they had just come within five feet when they pulled up short, their eyes finding the men Harry had taken out. "No…no no no no, he must already be here!" As he said this he turned along with his friend to run back in the direction they had come from only to stop mid motion as they found Batman standing there. Harry had watched as the man glided down from the rooftops and land silently, his eyes wide with amazement. Batman stood there silently however his head had turned to look at the top of the van his eyes narrowing slightly directly at Harry. The boy did not try to fool himself into believing that there was a chance the man had not seen him.

Batman moved quickly punching one of the men before they had a chance to move themselves, the other backed out of the way and went to run off. Harry seeing this threw the remaining marbles from his bag at the man's feet, he didn't even have time to investigate the clicking noise before he fell on his front. Harry jumped down immediately after and went to knock the man out as Batman finished the other man off, he had just reached the man when he heard a "Watch out!" from Batman.

He turned to investigate and found another man, barrelling into him. He let out a grunt as he fell to the floor his body protesting harshly as he heard a slight cracking noise his chest exploding in pain. He felt tears prick to the corners of his eyes as he forced himself to roll out of the way of the man, the man with the broken nose had recovered once more. Harry growled slightly as the man sneered down at him, when the man suddenly let off a weak moan before falling forward unconscious once more. Harry looked up to see Batman standing there, his face neutral as he looked down at the boy.

"Thanks…" Harry muttered it quietly as he clutched at his chest, the pain aching dully. He looked down feeling slightly embarrassed and annoyed with himself, he was supposed to be showing Batman that he could look after himself. The man had to rescue him from a someone he had already knocked out.

Batman said nothing for a moment looking over the boy, "are you injured?" the question held no sympathy and was hard and direct. Harry really wanted to say no he really did, but the pain from his chest had forced him to let out a few tears and he had no other choice then to nod to the question. Batman seemed to think something over before he moved passed Harry to the only other figure still conscious, the man was breathing heavily, panic setting in as the Dark Knight got closer to him.

Batman grabbed the man by his front and pulled him from where he had lain on the ground to hold him almost a foot off it, "who sent you?" The tone was cold and harsh, holding promises of pain should the man refuse to answer. The man said nothing at first looking like he was about to pee himself as he stared at the Dark Knight. "Who?"

The man's eyes had gone wide and he looked terrified as he muttered something in reply, Harry strained his ears but the pain in his chest was proving to be distracting. Whatever he said appeared to satisfy Batman who dropped him to the ground before pulling out a pair of oddly shaped handcuffs. He dragged the guy as well as the other three over to the van, handcuffing their hands to the bumper before reaching to touch the side of his mask.

He quietly spoke for a moment before he brought his hand back down and head to where Harry sat watching him with open curiosity. Batman sighed before pulling a remote of some kind from his belt, moments later the screech of tires was heard before a dark ominous vehicle came to a stop on the road next to where they stood.

Harry stood up as he looked the vehicle up and down in amazement, Batman said nothing as the top suddenly slid open to reveal two seats. Harry watched as the man jumped into the driver's seat, as he settled he looked over to the boy "get in." Harry was stunned by the order but did as he was told, quickly scooping up his pole from where it had fallen on the way. He struggled slightly as his chest protested, but was seated next to the man. The roof then slid back into place, shutting with a small click as the vehicles insides lit up revealing various buttons. Harry was curious about it but said nothing, worried that by talking the Dark Knight might decide to eject him or something. Batman barely gave him a glance as he pointedly did up his seat belt, Harry soon copying the motion before the car took off.


	8. The Bat Cave

**Well here, you are ladies and gents, chapter 8. Thank you to all of those of you who reviewed the last chapter as well as all of you who added this to your favourites and story alerts. **

**Disclaimer: Every time I do this I break my own heart *dramatic sigh* I don't own Batman or Harry Potter *sobs***

**Edit: Corrected a few mistakes pointed out by Wingsoffate, thank you for telling me **

Chapter 8: The Bat Cave

The car ride was awkward to say the least, Batman had no interest in talking it seemed and Harry didn't really feel like pushing his luck with the man especially since he was in his car. Said car was speeding through the city, the engine humming constantly in the background. The streets quickly parted for it and those who did not move were simply over taken the old fashioned way. By the time, the car had reached the city's outskirts Harry felt confident that Batman had broken every speeding law ever created.

Not that he wasn't enjoying the ride, Harry had always loved going fast whether in cars or just running it had always felt…natural to him. However the dull ache of his chest kept his attention for most of the drive and severely lessened the thrill he got from being in such a vehicle.

During the ride he had dared a glance or two in the Dark Knights direction, Batman had simply ignored him with his face set constantly in a neutral mask his eyes never leaving the road. This had made Harry feel all the more uncomfortable, and had resulted in him looking over the various buttons set in the dashboard as a distraction. They had held his attention for all of two minutes when he felt the temptation to ask what they did; he barely resisted and was grateful that he had the self-control to do so. If he started asking loads of questions, he would look like a little kid to the Dark Knight, which would not improve his chances of keeping his night job in the least bit.

However the temptation was still there and Harry had to pull his gaze away just in case, instead he fiddled with his pole hoping to keep his mind entertained until they got to wherever the man was taking them. As he moved the pole he felt yet another sharp pain from his chest and hissed under his breath as the temptation to cry once more made itself known. He violently shook it off instead looking up to the window only to find himself confused as his mind processed the scenery around them.

Instead of the tall gothic style buildings that seemed to dominate most of Gotham there were large twisted tree's, thin braches stretching out above the moving vehicle. A shiver ran down his spine as he looked out at them, he had not been outside of the city since he had moved there all those years ago. The only tree's he had ever seen had been those in Gotham park and they had looked…normal for the most part. These trees' looked like something straight out of a horror film, the dark foliage and rough exterior making them look almost alive.

He quickly looked away from them and towards Batman, hoping the man would explain or at least offer a word of comfort. He did neither keeping his eyes trained on the road as he accelerated slightly, the scenery seemingly having no effect on the man. Harry found himself disappointed despite knowing that it had been a faint hope at best, he shrank slightly in his seat once more looking down at his lap.

He did not look up again until the car suddenly turned, veering towards a set of bushes at the side of the road. Harry fell back into his seat as the seat belt held him firmly in place, his eyes wide as he stared out the windscreen and at the approaching bushes. Said bushes suddenly parted moving smoothly out of the way of the vehicle to reveal an old tunnel, the car sped up slightly as it entered it the bushes moving back into place as it did.

The tunnel was large with recessed lights set into the rocky ceiling, casting off patterns upon the metal road below. The car started to slow slightly and Harry found himself once more glancing up at Batman his face clearly showing his amazement, the man again did not look at the boy however this time Harry found he didn't mind as much as he looked out at the dark walls.

Suddenly an opening appeared as the tunnel finally came to an end, the car entering into a much larger chamber. Harry stared in amazement even as the car came to a neat stop, Batman quickly exiting as the top slid open. He was frozen with a mixture of awe and fear, awe at the place he was now in and fear at the thought that this might all be a dream. Moments passed and finally Batman appeared to notice the boy's reluctance to move, he growled a low "out" before walking away from the car.

Harry still stunned carefully climbed out of the car, his chest giving a sharp cry as he did so. He ignored it in favour of looking around his surroundings his eyes wide behind his cotton mask his mouth slightly ajar. The cave – for that was what the massive chamber truly was – was huge, wide metal girders where set in the walls along with some more recessed lights. These lights while dull seemed to match the mood perfectly as they cast dark shadows upon everything they touched.

There was a single platform held from beneath by various metal beams that kept it safe from the rushing water below, it was large and held oddly curved to match the surroundings. Due to the lighting the metal looked to be a bluish silver that absorbed any light cast onto it. Where he stood now had clearly been made with the intention of housing the car as the platform was circular and set off from the main body of the cave, holding enough room for two or three other vehicles.

The main part of the cave was dominated by a massive computer, which held eight separate screens each varying in length and size. The machine gave a gentle hum and all the screens instantly sprang to life showing varying feeds as well as other images, Harry gave a small gasp as he stared at it. 'This place…is wicked…' ran through his thoughts over and over again as he turned to get a better look of his surroundings. He didn't get much of a chance however when he heard a loud cough, his attention brought back to Batman who stood near the console his arms crossed before him.

Harry blushed slightly in embarrassment and quickly shut his mouth before heading to where Batman stood waiting, still taking note of the area as he moved. He arrived by the Dark Knight seconds later, the man simply looked at him for a moment before moving to the right of the computer where a lone blue bed stood. Harry followed unconsciously gripping tightly to his weapon as he did so, while the cave was cool it still held an element of danger to it. After what had happened earlier with the thug Harry thought it best to keep on guard, at least until he had an idea of what was going on.

As soon as they reached the bed Batman not waiting for his consent scooped him up, placing him on the bed before moving off into the darker part of the cave. He returned a moment later with a roll of bandages and some medical taped, Harry just watched him in confusion as his legs dangled off the edge of the tall bed.

"Jumper off." Harry just stared at the man, confused at the order. Batman cocked an eyebrow below his mask taking in the boys confusion, he just shook his head slightly before reaching forward to remove the dark red jumper. The cape and the shirt soon followed, Harry let him still confused as to what the man was doing. Suddenly he let out a small yelp as Batman pushed on his injured skin, a look of concentration upon his face. It would definitely bruise and there may have been a cracked rib but other than that there was no damage.

He leaned back slightly to grab the roll of bandages before leaning in again, moments later he was wrapping the bandages firmly around the boy's chest. Harry hissed slightly in discomfort as the side throbbed harder as the Dark Knight worked, the man was certainly not being gentle about it. Batman noticed this and the pressure he was applying lessened considerably, his pace slowing as he secured the bandage with the tape.

Harry watched the man after he finished, an expectant look on his face. Batman did not speak for a moment as he focused on making sure that the bandages would remain secure. After he had finished he looked up at the boy who had now narrowed his eyes at him in suspicion. He let out a small grunt before responding to the silent question "you may have cracked a rib, the bandage will lessen the pain."

Harry gave a small nod in reply not truly understanding the injury but understanding that it was not too serious, and as such chose to remain quiet and ignore the sharp pain his chest was still giving off. He could not look weak, especially not from such a minor injury. Even as he thought this he felt the urge to moan as another stab of pain followed the first, the Dark Knight was right though as the pain was not as bad now that the injury had been wrapped.

Batman silently passed him his clothes and the boy redressed, making sure to fasten the cape extra tight as he placed his metal pole inside the wide front pocket of his jumper. The pocket while not very secure held the pole in place, the ends sticking out of the pocket on either side the forgotten marble bag lying beneath it.

Batman said nothing as he dressed and waited until he was finished securing his cape before asking if wanted any pain killers Harry had immediately shook his head even as his mind had screamed yes. He would not look weak, he wouldn't.

Batman had simply gave him an odd look before turning around and heading over to where the large computer stood. Harry not wanting to be left alone jumped from the bed and followed after the man who had seated himself in a large black chair, his hands flying over the huge keyboard before him as he watched the main screen. Harry stood a little further back his eyes once again glancing over everything even as his body remained facing the Dark Knight. Neither spoke for a moment, both seemingly lost in their thoughts as the screech of bats was heard from above. Harry instantly looked up, watching as a small swarm appeared from within the rocks of the roof, all flying wildly as they headed toward another part of the cave.

Harry didn't truly know why but he felt himself smile as he turned to watch them move across the chamber of rock, there screeches slowly dying out.

"I told you to stay behind" Harry felt himself freeze up slightly as the dark growl of Batman broke through the sudden silence left in the bats wake. He turned slightly to look at the man who still had his attention firmly fixed on the screen in front of him, his hands flickering across the keyboard every now and again.

Harry said nothing for a moment, wondering how he should explain to the man. "I…have a friend who lives…lived at the shelter, I was…worried for him…" the boy trailed off near the end and cursed himself slightly for having such a small voice. The cave seemed to swallow it up, while amplifying Batman's. It was slightly unnerving just how in tune with this setting the man was, it was like he truly was a creature of shadows.

"That doesn't explain how you came to be chasing those men" Batman's voice echoed once more, and Harry stared at the man's back. His voice sounded accusing, as if he thought that Harry was at fault. Harry had of course disobeyed the man, but that was only so that he could try to help. Batman was talking to him as if he was some sort of criminal.

Harry narrowed his eyes slightly anger once more bubbling beneath the surface as his awe for his surroundings began to fade away. "They were coming out of the shelter as I got there, something told me that they were up to something." As he said this Batman continued to type, the massive computer screen casting light upon the pair.

"You should have stayed put" the Dark Knight continued, his voice sounded angered as he paused in his typing as he settled back into the chair, still facing away from the boy. "Those men could have easily killed you, as your injury should remind you."

Harry felt the building anger pulse violently and he barely restrained himself from shouting once more, "if you had just taken me with you in the first place, we could have worked together maybe even-"

He was cut off as the man abruptly stood from his chair spinning to face the boy who looked up at him with fear and defiance burning fiercely in his eyes. "I didn't need your help, I could have taken those men down more efficiently if you had just stayed out of it" Batman had growled this as he took a step toward the boy, Harry was trembling but had held his ground and was now looking up at the man with anger.

"So your saying I'm just a burden?" the question was sharp and Batman actually looked taken aback by how much ferocity the boy had asked it with. Even as rage burned through him Harry felt the prick of tears that were quickly released, his fast breathing causing his injury to ache further. As this happened Batman stared at the young child looking at a loss for what to do, his hands clenching and unclenching uselessly at his sides.

Harry didn't mean to break down in such a way, or for the anger that had burst free. However after all the years of living with the Dursley's who had constantly moaned about having to put up with him, as well as how much of a burden he was to them and their way of life had left the boy wounded if only mentally. He had always wanted to meet someone who understood the pain of loneliness, the pain of being an outcast. He had thought that Batman would understand, that the two could relate but apparently he had been wrong the man was just like everyone else.

His shoulders shook as he clenched his eyes shut, his head tilted toward the floor as more tears made their way down his face. He felt so alone, so out of place as he stood there sobs were gasped out of his trembling lips.

Suddenly he felt a large hand lay upon his shoulder, warmth flowing from it and into his body. His eyes shot open the blurred vision taking a moment to focus in on the figure before him, even when they did he believed himself to be dreaming once more. Batman was kneeled before him, his face openly concerned as he looked Harry over. They both stayed like this for a moment before Batman broke the silence once more, his harsh tone was missing as he spoke.

"I'm sorry…"

Harry just sniffled slightly in reply as he fought to keep more tears at bay, it didn't work as they spilled down his cheeks moments later. The boy gave Batman a weak smile in return for the apology, his body still trembling as his side seared with pain.

"I…"Batman tried to speak once more, but trailed off near the end as he looked away briefly to his right. Harry followed his gaze and froze as his eyes landed upon a large circular glass case. However it was not the case that had caught his attention, rather the costume it held within it. The costume was red and green with a sharp yellow R over where a person's heart would be, a black domino mask hung suspended above it the white slits staring into nothingness.

It was no mystery who this costume belonged to.

Who it _had_ belonged to.

'Robin…' the name drifted through his thoughts and once more he felt a sharp tug from it, a calling. His blurred vision drank the image in, hoping to preserve the costume forever within his memory as he ran his eyes over every detail it held. The red shone brightly even in the dull lighting, the yellow of the cape making it all the more distinctive within the dark cave.

"This…job…" Batman struggled as he spoke his voice sounding uncertain as his eyes remained fixed upon the costume "it comes at a cost…one that is sometimes too high…" Harry turned his attention back to the other man and noticed the same pained look he had noticed the first time the two officially met.

After a minute of silence the Dark Knight turned his attention back to the boy before him, his face slowly returning to its neutral mask as he hid his pain once more. Harry didn't know how to reply to this, and simply looked back to the costume safely concealed behind the perfect glass. The calling grew stronger and he felt the strong urge to move closer, barely restraining himself from doing so as he looked back to the man in front of him.

Harry shut his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, relieved that his breathing had settled down somewhat as Batman spoke to him. His fist clenched tightly at his sides as he calmed himself, ordering his brain to focus on the situation at hand. After a few seconds he opened his eyes again, a determined light shining within the blood shot pupils as he stared firmly into the white slits of Batman's cowl.

"It's my decision to make."


	9. The Wise Old Word Of Wisdom

**Ok, chappy nine is done! Truthfully, I don't really like this chapter and I'm thinking that I may go back and re write it at some point but at the minute I'll leave it as it is and get on with writing the next chapter. Thank you to those of you who reviewed and those of you who have favourite/alerted this story.**

**Disclaimer: Were nine chapters in and your still wondering if I own these two franchises? Think of it this way, if I did own them, this story would be canon. **

Chapter 9: The Wise Old Word Of Wisdom

Bruce sighed softly to himself as he sat back in his chair, his mind feeling heavy and sluggish. The computer hummed softly before him and served to actually soothe his head slightly as he relaxed in his chair his mind going over the day's events.

"_It's my decision."_

The boy was proving to be a very confusing individual, and it was giving him a headache. The child was stubborn, ill-tempered and refused to listen to reason. At the same time, he was quiet, holding a determined air in his voice and posture. Once again, he was showing traits similar to Jason, at the same time he was a complete opposite.

Bruce sighed once more to himself, his eyes glancing briefly to the small figure that slept a few feet away. Jason had always been stubborn, and had a hot headed streak that had often led him into dangerous situations. He was also arrogant, his personality cheerful but with an underlining darkness that influenced the boys every move. He had often resorted to violence, overlooking the facts until it was too late.

This boy was similar in that he had made a rash decision, one that could have cost him his life had Batman not been there. He had refused to listen to a direct order, and had sacrificed his own safety for the sake of following his 'gut'. Nevertheless, at the same time there was something about him, something that called to the man of shadows. The boy while similar to Jason reminded him more of him when he was a child, the personality, his mannerisms even the way he spoke. The boy had suffered even if not as harshly as himself and that darkness that suffocated Gotham had left an imprint upon him.

He had seen what could happen if that darkness was allowed to grow, without direction it could –it would lead to only more darkness and possibly a new criminal. That made the boy a danger, but at the same time it made him a possibility. If that darkness could be honed, turned into a weapon then the boy could be a great asset in his war on crime. The question was; should he risk yet another young life for a war of his own making?

The soft click of footsteps brought him back to reality alerting him to the presence of another, his body automatically tensing up once more as his eyes shot open. Paranoia could be a bitch at times.

"Is it safe to come in sir?" Bruce blinked slightly before looking to the stairway that led to the manor, his old friend and butler Alfred stood there with domino mask over his eyes. In his hands was his favourite serving tray upon it were a single cup of hot steaming coffee and a plate of food, he was in his usual prim black suit looking as calm as ever as he stood in the entrance.

Bruce just waved him over, casting a glance over at the sleeping form that lay on the medical cot a few feet away. The boys chest rose and fell evenly Batman's own cape was being used as a make shift blanket.

"How is the young sir?" Alfred inquired keeping his voice low as his own eyes travelled to the young form of the child, a small smile pulling at his lips as he saw Batman's cape. He turned to look at Bruce who had grabbed the cup of coffee from the tray, taking a long sip of the scolding liquid. "Do you need me to fetch a blanket from the manor sir?"

Bruce looked up at the older man and caught his small smile, one of his own momentarily making its way on to his lips before it hid behind his stoic mask once more. "No, the cape should work fine. I gave him a sedative to counteract the pain, he'll be out for a few hours."

Alfred nodded in reply as he placed the tray down on the console, looking at his employer with an amused glint in his eye. "He refused pain killers didn't he?" Batman gave a small nod, noting that Alfred's smile grew as he did so. "He could be a miniature version of you."

At this Batman's eyes widened slightly as he looked at the older man, Alfred giving him that all too knowing look as he did so. Bruce looked away after a few seconds, with a small grunt that acknowledged his agreement. He could never lie to Alfred, the old man knew him to well. As such when these situations tended to come around –which was surprisingly quite often- he would try to keep his answers sort or as none existent as possible.

"And what of the young sir's career choice?"

Bruce paused momentarily, his eyes once more moving to the sleeping form as he deeply inhaled the smell of his coffee, hoping the fumes would help wake his tired mind. "He wants to continue being Robin, I told him no once again" he looked back at the computer screen as he said this, his tired eyes aching as he forced them to look at the details of one of his latest cases.

The butler sighed as he said this, his face looking years beyond his actual age as he looked at the man he had raised. "Sir, do you really think that is the wisest decision?"

He paused in his movements, turning his chair to face Alfred who stood before him, a look of worry upon his aged face. As he did this, he placed his cup down on the console, careful to avoid spilling any of the liquid before turning his full attention on Alfred. He had the feeling it was going to be one of those nights where the man before him made him feel like he was an eight-year-old child again. "What do you mean?" He had an idea at what his old friend was getting at, but wanted to see if he shared his own thoughts.

Alfred paused for a moment, seemingly collecting himself before he began to speak. "What I mean Master Bruce is that I don't think it's wise for you to deny the boy."

The Dark Knight felt both of his eyebrows raise, surprise evident on his face as he watched Alfred. Not wise? After what had happened to Jason he would have expected Alfred of all people to advise against him taking on a new protégé, it appeared that he had thought wrong.

After a moment or two in which Alfred was given no reply, the man decided to continue. "From what you have told me the boy is greatly neglected by his family" as he said this he cast a quick glance at the child, his face showing his concern. "Would it not therefore be a better idea to give him someone to look up to?"

Batman paused here, thinking over Alfred's words. He had investigated into the boy days earlier, just after their argument. He had identified him as the child who had witnessed his fight with a gang days prior to his first appearance in the narrows. Bruce normally did not pay much attention to victims or the public for that matter; however, his eyes had drawn him to the child. Green eyes, just like Jason. They had been the same eyes that he had seen through the simple dress up mask, unique in there colour and emotion. It had not been hard to find the boy's name, he had simply moved around the Narrows disguised as old matches Malone. He had spotted the boy the next day as he exited an alley, his face looking sad and withdrawn. Bruce had felt a slight feeling of pity for him, but had kept his distance.

He had carefully followed the child to his home, watching as the boy used an old porch to climb up to his bedroom window. From there it had taken simply getting the homes address, the bat computer doing the rest. The boy's name was Harry Potter, an orphan who lived with his aunt and uncle a Petunia and Vernon Dursley. Despite gaining all the info he wanted he still returned to the home the next day, carefully observing the family and their comings and goings. It was obvious to anyone who bothered to look that the Dursley's did not like their nephew, they often referred to him as boy or his surname.

Bruce had not been happy with this and had felt the strong incline to call child services, however he had held off thinking it better to observe them a little more before taking action. He had found out through the family records that they originated from Britain and that the only one bringing money into the home was the uncle. And plenty of money to, he was an executive at a successful drill firm called 'Grunnings'. This had also raised the red flag signs to Bruce as he had noted very early on that the boy was wearing hand me downs, none of his clothing even nearly fitting him.

He had told Alfred his findings in hopes that the old man would have some useful advice on what action he should take, the old man had told him that the decision was his own. However Bruce was good at reading Alfred to, he had seen the carefully controlled anger that had flickered into his eyes. Alfred had never liked parents who neglected or abused their children, the Dursley's while not being the boy's parents were still his caregivers and had fallen into the man's bad books immediately.

No one should feel alone or unwanted within their own home, especially not a child. Harry was both; Bruce acknowledged this fact as he thought over Alfred's words. The boy did need a teacher, someone to look out and guide him as he grew. Had he not thought the same thing before the old man had initiated this conversation? Without that guidance the boy would most likely remain alone or grow even more reckless.

There was the option of calling child services of course, but would that lead to the boy having a better life? It would mean he was placed in a home that wanted children, a place that would treat him right. That did not mean that it would be the best option however, there was no guarantee that Harry would quit his little escapades into the Narrows. But it would give him a better chance at life, again Bruce found himself conflicted as his mind mulled over the possibility of allowing the boy into his life.

"You of all people should know that I'm not the ideal role model Alfred…" his voice was soft as he spoke, his mind still arguing with itself. "Would it not be better to give him a chance at having a normal life with a family that loves him?"

This was the question that was plaguing him the most, he needed to make a choice for the sake of the boy.

"I find that sometimes these problems cannot be solved by simple logic" the old man took a small pause here, standing straighter as he briefly glanced at the monitor before him. "From what you have told me the boy is strikingly similar to you, offering him a better home will no doubt not diminish his need to help others." Alfred turned slightly so that his whole body was facing Batman, "if he is like you he will no doubt try to continue no matter how happy he becomes in his own life."

"So you're saying I should bring him into this? Allow another child to become entangled in _my_ war" Batman had never fooled himself, he knew that many people did not agree with how he handled criminals. Many of these people happened to be in the police force, they would often demand that Gordon arrest him for acting as a vigilante. Gordon of course was part of the majority that viewed Batman as an ally, but the fact remained that not everyone viewed what he was doing as a good thing and refused to affiliate themselves with him.

As such many of the criminals often referred to him and his allies as the 'bat family'. All those in this 'family' were likely targets for villains, and would often have a bounty of some kind on their heads. Batman himself was currently valued at 2 billion by a Russian mob dealer he had a run in with a few weeks ago, the Rogues had obviously not heard yet as they had not sought him out.

Alfred sighed slightly, a look of sadness on his face as he looked at his young friend "this war is not your own sir, as I am sure Master Dick will attest. The fact of the matter is that this boy has already entered the war, and I highly doubt he will back out of it." There another pause as Alfred thought over his own words, his tone softening slightly as he continued, "even if you forbid him from becoming Robin, where is your guarantee that the boy will not just take up another identity? One that is not affiliated with the Batman but targeted all the same."

He had not thought of that, he knew Harry was stubborn and would no doubt try to continue going out as Robin against his wishes. If he did create a new identity then he would be targeted all the same, there was no distinction that would separate the boy from him and the others.

"That's all the more reason for me to keep him out of it Alfred, the danger would be to grea-"

Alfred cut across him quickly, his voice slightly louder "I disagree sir as I see it that is all the more reason for you to allow him to take the position. The greater danger would be to ignore him, without proper training or equipment he would become an easy target for those men."

Bruce had instinctively backed down slightly when Alfred raised his voice, his own lowering as he did so "I can't have any more blood on my hands Alfred…I can't…not after Jason…"

The old man's face was instantly sympathetic, showing care and understanding as he placed a hand on Bruce's shoulder. "Sir…what happened with Master Jason was not your fault, if anyone is to blame it is that mad man. You can't blame yourself, his…"here Alfred gulped slightly and seemed to recompose himself "death was a tragedy…but you can't let it dictate your actions with this boy…"

Batman was silent for a moment, his thoughts once more running into one another. Should he do this? Should he train a child he barely knew to fight against crime? "I…I'll think about it Alfred" That was the best answer he could give the elderly butler at this time.

Alfred nodded slightly in reply, satisfied with the answer for the time being. Deciding to change the subject for the time being, the man turned to look once more upon the massive screen before him. "The homeless shelter fire, I heard about it from the news. Do you have any leads sir?"

Batman recognised that his friend had purposely changed the subject, and was silently grateful to him. He did not like opening up to people, it made him feel weak and vulnerable more…human. Alfred it seemed had a talent for drawing that side of his personality out from behind his stoic mask. The subject of Jason always served to get an emotional response of some kind; usually it was anger or regret.

Turning his attention back to the old man's question Bruce turned himself and his chair to face the console once more, his hands moving across the keyboard as his voice returned to the emotionless growl that belonged only to Batman. "Not yet, one of the thugs confessed that they worked for Rupert Thorn. What I don't understand is what connection he has to play in all this, I hardly think burning down homeless shelters as something that would interest him."

"Rupert Thorn the gangster?" Alfred looked slightly startled at this news, and more than a little worried. Batman had clashed with the man and his men on various occasions, usually when they were robbing banks. However after Black Mask had set himself up as the 'Crime Lord' of the city he had disappeared off the radar. Bruce had half expected him to turn up dead, however with these new attacks it appeared that this was not the case.

There was nothing to worry some about the man, he had no special powers and was restricted to using fire arms. Batman could easily handle him in a fight along with any of those who remained in his gang, no, the problem was his sudden interest in the Narrows. Over the past few weeks Batman had been looking into various assaults that had happened in the area. People had been beaten in their own homes by a bunch of thugs for no other reason than they refused to move. It appeared these thugs had now moved onto the homeless people who littered the Narrows, the attacks had also become more organised.

He had arrived in the Narrows earlier that night to make sure that Harry hadn't gone out again, he had come across a group of men attacking homeless people in the alley way. He had taken care of the men quickly enough but they had succeeded in scaring off any of the people who lived there. After when he had moved to help with the shelter fire he had come to the conclusion that they may be targeting other areas as well, seeing as the police and firemen had the situation under control he had moved to another highly populated area.

There he had found two men preparing to set fire to some of the cardboard boxes that served as homes. He had dropped down to investigate and the two had immediately taken off running, he had chased them as they zigzagged in and out of various alleyways. One even threw a grenade at him during the chase, he had barely managed to jump out of range of the weapon before continuing after the men. They had all been apprehended along with the two who had set fire to the shelter, which he reluctantly admitted was thanks to the help of the boy.

No what worried him now was what plan Thorn had up his sleeve, the man had proven to be rather ruthless over the years if slightly lacking in the head department. He worried for the people who lived in the Narrows, he worried for the people who may be caught in the cross fire. But most of all he worried for the young boy who slept peacefully a few feet away.


	10. Training

Authors note: I know I know long time no read, but honest to God it wasn't my fault. Seriously I have been without a computer these past few weeks as the damn thing decided it didn't like working anymore and the school's computers have blocked fanfiction so I was like 'oh bloody fantastic' you should have heard my rant at the librarian when she came to tell me off. Suffice to say I won't be going anywhere near the school library for the next few weeks -.-

Anyway updates will be slow over the next few weeks as my A levels are coming up and I kinda need to be revising, as well as this I'm planning a massive rewrite for this story where I'm going to be changing around and addressing a few issues. Anyway thank you to all of you who have reviewed as well as added this to your favourites –I'm up to 105 how the hell did that happen 0-0-or alerts.

Anyway without further ado the next instalment of A Robin's Wings

Disclaimer: Go to the previous chapter and have a look wise ass

Chapter 10: Training

He was awoken by a screech, his eyes shooting open as he panicked momentarily forgetting where he was. He quickly sat up breathing heavily as his eyes finally focused on his surroundings, the previous night's events slowly coming back to him. He let out a small whine of discomfort as his side let off a sharp pain, his hand reaching up to carefully hold the tender area.

Harry paused for a moment, allowing his eyes to close once more as his breathing calmed. He opened them again when he felt the smooth material covering him pool in his lap, looking down he found the long black cape of the Dark Knight covering him. He blinked slightly at this, trying to recall exactly how he got onto the bed or even when he went to sleep. Nothing came to mind, all he could really remember was that he had broken down crying in front of the man.

He felt his cheeks burn as a wave of sadness and regret washed over him, why did he have to break down? Why couldn't he have been strong enough to keep his emotions in check? His fists clenched angrily in his lap, squeezing the dark material tightly as he silently cursed himself. He had once again proven to be a hindrance, his abilities lacking in even self-control. There was no way that Batman would ever accept him now; he would have to work separately from the man. He was extremely saddened by this thought but forced himself to accept it, there was no point dwelling on things that would never happen no matter how attractive.

He growled slightly to himself as he clenched his eyes shut, his voice sounding weak and feeble as he did so "I'm so pathetic…"

"Now that is simply not true" Harry eyes shot open as his head swung round to find where the rich cultured voice had originated from, he found an elderly man in a well-tailored suit standing a few feet away. The man's hair had greyed but was obviously well kept; on his face was a domino mask, the white slits concealing his eyes from the child. As he walked, closer Harry distantly noted that the man was holding a tray layered with food, however at the time the boy was too surprised to truly take notice.

"Who…?"

"Who am I?" the man finished his question for him when he found his voice unable to continue, the man's own voice was layered with amusement as he looked down at the boy. Harry gave a small nod in return, his eyes wide as he carefully watched the man. He seemed nice enough, but Harry had been in the Narrows long enough to know not to judge a book by its cover. Especially nice books that seem to genuinely kind to actualy be real. The man simply smiled at him as he came to stop next to the bed "my name is Alfred, I work for Batman."

His eyes grew even wider if possible behind his mask, his face the picture of disbelief. He worked for Batman? He just continued to stare, what was he supposed to say?

Alfred seemed to notice his discomfort and let out a small chuckle, he placed the tray down on the edge of the bed. He smiled kindly at the boy who was looking between him and the plate of pancakes that sat on the tray. "You must be Robin" at this the old man held out his hand, waiting for a hand shake "it is nice to meet you."

Harry stared at the hand for a moment before carefully shaking it, a smile of his own on his face. Alfred had addressed him as Robin; the name had filled him with joy and a slight sense of warmth. "Nice to meet you to…" even so his voice retained its low level. If the man worked for Batman surely he could be trusted, besides he seemed nice enough.

Alfred brought both of his arms to behind his back after he and the boy finished shaking hands, his smile staying firmly in place. "I suggest you eat sir, Batman informed me that he wished to speak to you upon his return."

Harry blinked slightly at this and cast a look around the cave, finding the large chair in front of the massive computer to be empty of its previous occupant. He brought his attention back to Alfred moments later "he left?"

"Yes sir, I'm afraid he had some…personal business to take care of while you were resting" the man explained, casting his own gaze to the massive computer for a moment then back to the young boy who had yet to move. After a few moments he became worried for the child who had returned his gaze to the computer a forlorn look upon his face, a small frown playing on his lips. "Do you not like pancakes sir?"

Harry just shook his head slightly, the situation feeling so surreal to him. "No no that's not it I…I was just surprised that you called me Robin, I don't really think Batman wants me to use the name…" As he finished Harry took a deep breath, inhaling the smell of the pancakes that sat only a few metres away, instantly his stomach started to growl loudly. He instantly blushed looking down at his treacherous body with frustration.

Alfred meanwhile just shook his head slightly in exasperation, the child was so nervous. At the same time he was trying to act mature, trying to grow up too quickly. He lost himself momentarily in the memory of another little boy who grew up to quickly, his stubborn streak proving too great for even Alfred to break. He returned to the present moments later to see that the boy had finally given in to his body and was now taking a careful bite of one of the pancakes. A moment later, he let out a small moan of appreciation, and Alfred almost laughed aloud at the sound, it felt so good to have a child around again.

The boy didn't notice Alfred's mirth as he dug into the pancakes believing them to be the best food that he had ever tasted in his young life, his aching side all but forgotten at the time. Neither spoke until he finished them, and after Alfred offered him a glass of milk to wash it all down. Harry found himself liking the old man more and more as they talked, Alfred proving to be very adept in small talk. Harry was actualy enjoying himself, and had all but forgotten where he was until there was the sound of footsteps.

Both of them looked up in time to see Batman entering the cave from a set of dark steps that Harry had yet to notice, he watched as the man immediately headed to the computer console his gaze never moving to the other two. He swallowed slightly as the nervous feeling returned to him along with a small tug of guilt. He looked down to his lap and smiled slightly as he once again looked upon the dark material that had kept him warm in the night.

Alfred gave him a slight pat on the shoulder in encouragement then helped the boy down from the high bed. Harry didn't move straight away as nerves once again tried to force him to cower away in fear. At this thought his eyes narrowed and he forced his body to move forward, angry at his lack of control. Alfred remained by the bed cleaning up any crumbs that might have fallen on to the mattress and carefully folding the cape. Harry didn't notice as he steadily made his way to stand by Batman's chair.

The man didn't acknowledge him for a moment as he seemed to be lost in thought, his fingers dancing over the keys of the computer as images flickered onto the screen. Harry had just opened his mouth when Batman finally spoke, "is this what you really want?" The question caused him to pause, his mouth shutting as he mulled over the question. "Is it what you want most in the world?"

Batman by this point had turned to face him, his face emotionless as he stared into the boys eyes. Harry did not hesitate to say "yes" in reply. The Dark Knight thought this over for a moment before he stood from the chair, looking down on the boy through narrowed lenses.

"If you want the name Robin…then you're going to have to earn it" Harry blinked in response his eyes wide as he felt happiness well up within his chest. He had a chance; he had a chance to become Robin! He quickly nodded his acceptance and the Dark Knight remained still for a moment before he turned and headed over to a shelf that stood near the console. He grabbed something from it before returning moments later to stand a few feet away from Harry.

He returned a moment later holding a metal pole in each hand, he stood there for a moment and watched him carefully analysing the small child as well as his visible facial features, his own face reamaining blank and impassive. "You will have to prove to me that you are worthy of being my student, that I can trust you, but most importantly…you'll have to prove to me that you are worthy of that name."

Finished Batman walked away never glancing back at Harry, instead he continued forward down the small staircase and past the Batmobile down a previously unnoticed path. Harry for a moent simply blinked before coming to his senses, he briefly glanced at Alfred who stood off to the side holding the empty tray, the old man gave him a small smile and a nod in encouragement. Harry gave a small nod in return before running to catch up with the Dark Knight who was now barely in sight. He had to resist the urge to yell 'wait up' at the man knowing it wouldn't be the best thing to say in his current situation. He caught a few minutes later to find a whole new section od the cave layered with platforms each leading to various levels, Batman was heading for a metal stair case leading up slightly out of Harry's sight range.

Harry just followed in awe of his surroundings once more as he caught sight of what appeared to be a giant T Rex its massive mouth opened wide as if it was prparing to feast on the two of them. Batman paid it no attention and headed staright up the stair case Harry having no other option then to follow reluctantly tore his sight away so as to prevent himself from tripping.

Harry found himself in what looked to be a gym, various pieces of gymnastic equipment as well as weights took up various spots on the level, machines he didn't recognise were set up in a corner next to a punching bag that hung from the stone ceiling. The majority of the area however was dominated by a large mat that apeared to be for fighting, it was a lightgrey that clashed nicely with the dull blue of the platform around it. The silence was broken by a screech from within the roofs jagged rocks, Batman who had momentarily paused moved to the centre of the mat, he turned slighty to throw one of the matal poles to Harry the boy barely managing to catch the surprisingly light piece of metal.

He just looked at it confusion before looking back to Batman for an explantion, instead he found the man removing his cape the dark material falling to the floor behind him to pool upon itself. "Youll fight me" was the only thing said as the elder male rolled his shoulders to relieve them of tension, his neck cracking slightly as he did the same thing to it.

Harry gulped slightly before tensing his own shoulders, he then through off his own cape the thin material fluttering slightly before it finaly reached the floor he then jumped onto the matt the staff held steadily before him. He found his hands shaking slightly as he silently cursed himself once more for being weak trying force the shaking to stop.

Batman watched him silently spinning his own staff slightly before moving into a ready stance the staff held before him in preperation. Harry watched closely carefully observing the stance before attempting to shift his own to somewhat mirror it, mean while adjusting his grip.

"Rules?" was the only thing he asked, making sure to keep his voice steady and to mask all of his fear. He wanted this, he wouldn't back down now.

Batman while not showing it outwardly was pleasantly surprised, he had expected the boy to rush headlong into the fight . Instead the boy chose to observe his opponent before making a move, trying to work out any weaknesses in the mans stance. He was less like Jason then he had first assumed.

"First one to land five hits upon the other wins" was Batman's only reply a slight smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

Harry nodded slightly to show he understood before once more tensing his body. He knew that this fight would be like none of those he'd had before, for one Batman was a lot larger as well as more experianced as such he would expect a head on attack and would know how to deflect such moves. He was also skilled in close combat which meant that he would be aware of how to keep up his guard as well as how to avoid attacks. Another problem was that the man was smart, he like Harry was observing his opponent analysing each movement looking for a weakness to exploit.

Harry grunted there was no advantage here, he didn't know the terain nor did he have the element of surprise as usual which ment a head on attack was the only option. Luckily Harry did have one thing on his side, his height and weight made Harry a very fast target one that should be hard to hit even for the Batman.

Harry rushed the staff held tightly in his hand as he drew it back putting the majority of his strengh into his swing, the staff's clanged as they collided Harry trying to force the opposing staff down and therefore create an opening. However the staff didn't even budge easily remaining steady against the opposing force, Batmans face remaining neutral as he stared into Harry's eyes, the slits of the cowl narrowing slightly.

Harry felt a small growl pass his lips before drawing back to strike once more, only to be find the opposing staff colliding heavily with his side. He rolled to the side and clutched at where the blow had landed 'ow ow ow ow….'His face grimaced slightly but he didn't say anything, his lips tightly pressed to one another. Moments later he was once more on his feet and charging forwards, his side throbbing slightly. This blow like the previous was blocked, his opponent once more retaliating with a strike of his own however harry was ready this time and managed to block the incoming swing just in time.

A slight smile appeared on his face only to quickly disapear again as yet another strike to his already injured side caused him to stumble back slightly, a low hiss clearly expressing his pain. He growled before shifting his weight slightly, his eyes moving to watch his opponent who observed him cooly, perfectly at ease in his stance.

'That makes two…' he thought his eyes narrowing slightly before once again moving into his copied stance. This was not going well, if he wanted to be Robin he was going to have to up his game. That in mind, he spread his legs a little further allowing his body to also lower slightly before once more charging. This time however he didn't try to strike Batman instead blocking the oncoming strike with his own staff, his body lowering further before he slid between Batmans legs. He quickly span his staff extended for the blow, however Batman was gone leaving the boy bewildered.

'Where-' His thoughts were cut short by yet another blow to that same side, only this one was from behind. He fell to the floor a pained moan this time making its way from his lips as he clutched at his side, it felt like it was on fire. His cracked rib was protesting loudly and the boy was all to aware that the Dark Knight was purposly aiming at his injury.

"Concentrate" the dark voice drew his pained gaze back to Batman who stood watching him just a few feet away, his body perfectly still. Suddenly he sprung forward his staff aimed at Harry's head, the boy gave a surprised gasp before rolling out of the way accidently leaving his bo staff behind. The mans staff clanged loudly as it collided with the floor, actualy denting the matt due to the force he put into the swing.

He didn't stop however as moments later the man was one again moving, only this time the staff was swung low and managed to catch Harry on his chin as he watched in surprise. His head snaped backwards with the recoil, hs body falling with it, moments later his hand was on his chin gently rubbing at the abused flesh.

"I believe that makes four" the dark knights voice rang out once more, the low volume giving it a slightly scary effect. Harry gaped slightly at the man in disbelief, his chin and side throbbing together as though trying to remind him of there existence.

"That's not fair! You attacked me when I was recovering!" Harry yelled as he jumped back to his feet, his eyes narrowed angrly at the elder male who showed no outward emotion in response to his outrage.

"I never said I wouldn't" was the only reply.

Harry just stared in disbelief, his eyes wide once again behind the material of his mask. His mouth remained opened for a few more moments closing momentarily before opening as though he was going to argue. After a few minutes Harry seemed to regain his control, his fists clenched tightly at his sides as the gloves caused the palms to sweat and further irritate the young boy. 'Fine, if that how he wants to play it.' Harry quickly observed his opponent, noting that his bow staff was lying just behind Batmans feet. Once again he took a stance, this time with his fists held up before him.

Like the previous time he charged however instead of trying to avoid the oncoming blow he jumped onto it catching Batman mementarily off guard before jumping off the pole and performing a spinning kick. The kick never landed as Batman easily stepped back and avoided it, however his foot stepped onto the pole which rolled from under it causing him to momentarily lose his balance. Harry quickly took advantage as he bounced from his landing spot, a leg outstreched for another kick this was however also blocked much to the boys annoyance. Not giving up he span slightly as gravity pulled him toward the ground, his hands catching him as he hit both legs spinning in an attempt to catch Batman who simply stepped to the side.

Harry grinned to himself as Batman once more lost his balance only this time on the marbles he had just dropped onto the floor. The dark knight couldn't regain his balance in time and fell onto his back, Harry attempting to once more land a blow only to be denied as the man rolled backwards out of the way, his staff coming to wack Harry once more in his side.

"Ahhh…" Harry felt his eyes tear up slightly as he clutched at his side, what was he thinking not putting some armour in this jumper. It was proving how poor his protection and resources truly were.

"You cheated…" Batman had recovered at this point and was now standing above the boy, his proximity intimidating Harry slightly.

"Hah…never said I couldn't" he had apparently caught the Dark Knight by surprise as the mans face lost its stoic expression for a few moments, it soon returned to the previous look however as the man turned away and collected both staffs and placed them on a nearby rack.

"You have a long way to go…" the man briefly looked back at the child over his shoulder before moving to the place where he had fell moments before, picking up one of the marbles to examine it. Harry sighed in disapointment, he realy thought he'd had him that time, he was so careful when he dropped the marbles and even adjusted his kick in hopes of driving the man toward them. Of course this had worked, however it had not gained him the victory he had so wanted.

He stared at the floor his hands still clutching the aching side his jaw occasionly throbbing along with it. He was surprised when a shadow fell over his small form, his eyes moving up to come to level with Batmans own the man now kneeling before him. "But…it wasn't to bad a start" the mans voice had softened slightly as his hand ruffled Harry's already messy locks.

He just stared in stunned disbelief all to present, Batman moved away moments later to pick up his discarded cape quickly reattaching the material to its designated mantle before turning to face Harry once more. He had still yet to move utterly stunned by the brief show of affection only snapping out of his daze when he notted a outstreched hand before his face. Still some what out of it he grabbed a firm hold of the appendage which pulled him to his feet, his eyes glancing up to meet with those of the Dark Knight.

An awkward silence fell between the two for a moment, neither quite knowing what to say to the other when finaly it appeared that Batman had returned to his previous thought track. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Before Harry could reply with another yes the man held up his hand keeping the boy silent "this life is not an easy one, it is riddled with challenges as well as consequences. If you choose to do this then I will expect your dedication and nothing less then your all, if you do not meet my expectations your out. If you fail to follow my instructions your out, if you go further then what I deem nessecary your out. Is that clear?"

His voice brooked no room for argument and Harry had no desire to do so, as such he just gave a simple determined nod in response. Batman paused his eyes narrowing slightly before he turned to exit the platform, Harry quickly followed him barely remembering to grab his cape as he attempted to keep up with the man.

"You will wait at Dead Mans corner in the Narrows at eight o'clock every evening, I will be there at that time and if your not then I am not going to wait for you. We will return here every school night for aproximatley two to three hours of training after this I will drop you off near your home where you will return and rest." At this point he briefly glanced back at Harry to reassert his order, the boy keeping his mouth fimly shut. "On the weekends you will inform your relitives that you are staying over at a friends and will give them this number for contact information" the man didn't even pause in his stride as he held out a piece of paper with a single phone number written in normal black inc. Harry quickly grabbed it looking it over for a minute before stuffing it into his pants pocket for safe keeping.

"We will return here and you will spend your time training with me unless I have arranged differently, you will also spend your time studying and finishing your homework." Batman paused as he came to a stop next to the Batmobile "I believe I have given you sufficient time to do your work on school nights as well as sufficient training time, is this acceptable?" He looked down at Harry who was just staring up at him in wonder before giving him another nod.

Batman just jumped into the Batmobile in response signiling for Harry to follow, Harry did so his new training regime occupying his thoughts. One this was for sure he was going to be busy for the next few weeks.


	11. To The Rescue!

Authors note: This chapter has been rotting on this computer since I first came up with this story, understandably it's looking forward to it debut, thanks for all the reviews favourites and alerts.

Disclaimer: Do we really need to go over this again -.-

Edit: I've gone thru and edited what mistakes I have noticed as well as changed up the beginning slightly. If you notice any mistakes that I've missed please don't hesitate to point them out ;)

Chapter 11: To the rescue

Six weeks passed quickly to the young child, his life becoming consumed by training. His nightly outings had turned into trips to the cave, Batman pushing him to his limits and beyond. The man had not been joking when he said the training would be difficult and Harry had found himself hard pressed to keep up. His body had luckily had adapted somewhat over the time, unfortunately that didn't stop him from being constantly exhausted.

They had stuck to Batman's schedule over the time, come up with a schedule of sorts, Batman would come and pick him up every night at eight, he would then take him to the cave and they would start on weight training. After an hour or so of this they would move onto another activity for another hour and then onto another. This went on until eleven o'clock at which point the man would either take Harry home or allow him to stay on the bed in the cave. He had given his aunt the note as Batman had instructed, she had been quite critical at first about him actually having a friend but had quickly agreed upon learning that he would be out of the house on a weekend. She had phoned the number once to check up that Harry was not lying thru his teeth and had a conversation with who he assumed was Batman, she had seemed happy enough when she got off the phone and gave her permission.

Batman had also instructed -forced- him to leave his costume in the cave to insure that he would not be tempted to go out on his own much to the boy's annoyance, but he had done as asked. As well as his costume, he had been told to leave his weapon, he had found himself missing both more and more as time went on.

During this time of training Alfred had took notice of his unique scar –honestly Harry had forgotten all about it over the last few weeks, his mind had been quite occupied with recent events- the old man had been fascinated by the oddly shaped cut. He had asked for the story behind it and Harry had explained about his parents and how they had died in a car crash back in England, Alfred had been sympathetic and had offered the boy a comforting hug when he had paused to think over the story. He had been only one when they died and he had little to no recollection of them, even so he couldn't help but feel a pang in his chest every time he thought of them. It wasn't a feeling of pain so much, no it was more like…emptiness. And he hated himself for it; he should be bawling crying over his parents' lives being cut so short. But he didn't he just felt…cheated, angry at the injustice of not having anyone there to look out for him. At being left all on his own.

Alfred had shaken him from his thoughts and quickly distracted him with a joke, quickly preventing the boy from going into a Minnie Batman impression of brooding. A few days later Alfred had approached him once more this time with a small round tub, the man had explained that it was a special crème made to help conceal and heal damaged skin. Alfred said that if he applied it enough his scar would eventually fade away and that he should use it on any injuries he received. Harry had been surprised before he thanked the man profusely, happy that he had received a gift. Alfred had simply smiled in reply, happy that the boy was for once acting his age.

Harry had since been applying it every day; his once rather prominent scar had faded to the point where it was barely visible in the best light. Harry had been both relived and saddened by this, his scar had always been his most prominent feature and as such, he had always looked at it as something special. At the same time, he understood the danger of having such a distinguishing mark and was relieved that one more clue to his real identity had been eliminated.

His injury had also healed over the time, the side returning to how it had been before. It was pretty strange actually as it had healed over a few days; Batman had been surprised but hadn't commented further. But as good as it was to be back to full working order it came with the down side of Batman pushing him further as well as being constantly watched. The man appeared to be observing Harry over the time, Harry didn't mind to much but was slightly unnerved by how the man monitored any injuries he received. Harry had found he had to constantly remind himself why he was doing this, forcing himself to go on no matter how attractive quitting looked.

He had learned a lot over the weeks and actually felt slightly embarrassed about his own skills as he learned more and more. It turned out he had been jumping all wrong, as well as this he was wasting to much energy while fighting due to how much power he was putting behind his hits. Batman had started him on martial arts on the first week, he had struggled to keep the stances but had managed to memorise them to a degree. Batman was usually with him during training but on some occasions had to leave due to an emergency, when this happened Alfred would watch over him often helping the training pass quicker.

He had found himself enjoying the man's company more and more over the time they spent together, his sarcastic wit and dry humour often getting a laugh out of him.

Even as he made progress in his physical training, he also worked on his mental, Batman often giving him information to memorise then quizzing him on it at random intervals. This information ranged from the background of super villains to what was on the news earlier that week. Harry as a result found himself having to observe practically everything around him, always watching and noting for future reference.

Even so he had found his school grades suffering slightly as his night time trips left him with little energy and a smaller attention span in class. Mr Burgess had been quick to notice this and had been picking on Harry more and more during lessons. Harry had of course not been happy with this but had put up with it, doing his best to answer the questions.

After weeks of this it appeared that Burgess had grown tired of Harry's exhaustion and had finally taken the initiative to ask to have a word with the boy at the end of one of his lessons.

-_Scene Break_-

Harry sighed as he walked down the hallway; the talk with Mr Burgess had seemed to drag on forever and frankly Harry was relieved when the man had let him go. However as a result he would have to serve a detention with the man on Wednesday evening, he was not too happy about that.

He sighed once more as he glanced out the window as he passed; the rain seemed to be tailing off slightly as the clouds began to part. However, the fact that it was still raining meant a wet break, great now he would be stuck in a room with Dudley and his friends. The only plus side was that a teacher would be present meaning that his cousin would not be able to do a thing to him, that and the wet break room had a TV.

Smiling slightly he quickly made his way there, as soon as he was close enough he could make out a roar of chattering that was so loud it seemed like there was no wall there at all. Ignoring this he entered the room, quickly dumping his bag among the others before making his way over to the TV, which sat next to Miss Ecles who was half-heartedly trying to listen to it while keeping her eye out for any troublemakers. Harry was a few feet away when he finally took notice of what was on the screen, the channel six news that was currently showing its two anchors whatever they were saying however was lost to the room. This wasn't what had caught his attention however, rather it was the image in the top right corner of the screen, a picture of Batman.

The news suddenly changed to a live feed showing down town Gotham, the angle clearly being filmed from a helicopter. Batman sat in the centre his arms bound behind him by chains, he looked like he had taken a beating with various cuts and bruises clearly visible through tears in his costume. Around him stood five figures who varied in height and looks, four men and one woman. Harry quickly thought back to what Batman had taught him over the past weeks as well as his own knowledge of Gotham's infamous 'Rogue gallery'. After a few seconds, he had identified two of the figures as the famed Harley Quinn and he psycho boyfriend the Joker.

He stood rooted to the spot, disbelief clear on his face. Some of the most infamous criminals in Gotham were holding batman captive. Not good. Harry found himself panicking slightly and had to tell his brain to slow down as he tried to take in the situation; he carefully looked over the scene noting the presence of the police around the centre. So they had set up a perimeter, that was good…well a good start at least.

However with Batman in such a prominent position they most likely wouldn't risk shooting. That meant the criminals had leverage and that was never a good thing, Harry felt himself begin to panic again his fists clenched tightly at his sides as he tried desperately to focus. 'What do I do? What do I do?' suddenly the boy felt as though he had been struck by lightning, his hand quickly unclenched and reached into his pocket grasping his deactivated communicator. He slowly moved away avoiding kids as he made his way to the hallway, no easy task as many were running around like headless chickens.

Once there he looked around checking that he was in fact alone before he moved further down to a more secluded spot where the chatter of other children was a far off noise. He looked around once more before putting the communicator in his ear, switching it on as he tried to reach the cave. He didn't really expect an answer with Batman in such a situation so he was surprised when he was instantly given one the crisp British accent telling him that it Alfred. "Robin. Come in Robin."

He took a deep breath before replying his voice low to avoid being overheard by any passing teachers "Alfred, I'm here" he relaxed slightly as he spoke, Alfred would know what to do.

"Oh thank goodness, I've been trying to contact you sir, however it would appear that your communicator was switched off" the last part of his sentence was said with disapproval, the man clearly not happy with him. Harry blushed slightly unconsciously rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Sorry, school hours…" he lamely tried to explain, he trailed off slightly as his thoughts drifted back to the current situation. "Alfred what's happening, I saw the news."

Alfred took a few moments to reply the sound of typing was heard "it would appear that Master Batman's enemies have decided to eliminate him, however they appear to want to take a few others out on the way." The sound of typing returned once more, Harry's fists had once more clenched as he tried to calm his nerves. "They have planted multiple bombs around the centre and are threatening to detonate them if the police does not allow them to do as they please."

Oh perfect, as if the situation hadn't looked dire enough. "W-what can we do?" he asked his voice shaking slightly; he forced himself to calm down and steady his voice.

"We can't do anything" Harry felt himself freeze, nothing they could do? But…but they couldn't just leave the man, no…no he wouldn't just let the man die. "But _you_ can…" Harry's thought track stopped abruptly at this, his body tensing up.

"Me? B…but what can I do?" Harry cursed himself for once again stuttering, as he listened carefully to the communicator. What did Alfred mean, he was just a kid and according to the dark knight, he wasn't anywhere near ready.

Alfred had paused slightly again seemingly considering his own words, after a minute he finally spoke once more his own voice confident and contrasted starkly to the boys "you can save him." Harry felt a warmth flow threw him at these words, Alfred had so much faith in his ability's the man trusted him to save probably the most important person in the old man's life. He was not delusional and knew that he wouldn't be able to take them all down on his own, however the man's words filled him with such confidence that for the first time since he started training under his new mentor he felt confident in his abilities. He could do this; Alfred had faith in him so all he needed was faith in himself.

He took a deep breathe steadying his nerves, forcing his mind to focus on the task at hand. "Right." He paused momentarily however when he remembered one crucial fact "Alfred my costumes at the cave, I haven't got a spare" that put more than a slight kink in his rescue plan.

"That is not a problem sir, if you will move to the alleyway to the right of your school. Your costume will arrive momentarily" the answer was short and Harry found himself blinking in surprise, he smiled slightly as he shook his head. He should have known better, what was it Batman said 'Alfred always knows best?' He shook himself out of his thoughts, once again trying to focus. What was wrong with him today? Maybe Mr Burgess was right and he was over tired.

"Right, I'm on my way." Was the reply, he quickly glanced around checking no one was there before taking off down the corridor, he needed to hurry. He reached the entrance quickly once more looking around himself; he found the streets empty and no cars along the main road. Good, that made things a lot easier. He made his way out and headed to the side alley, happily noting that the rain had finally stopped.

He reached there moments later, shivering slightly as he stood in the middle of it keeping his eyes out for anyone who might wander past. "Alfred, I'm here," he muttered lowly into his communicator, his voice once again shaking only now from the cold air rather than nerves.

The old man voice filtered through immediately "your package should be arriving momentarily sir" as soon as this sentence was finished the sound of screeching tires could be heard, Harry whipped round panicking slightly at the thought of someone coming here. Instead, he found a gleaming crimson motor bike was coming down the alley…with no driver.

Harry stared his eyes large and round as the bike came to a stop in front of him, the engine giving off a low purr. The bike looked sharp, with a mixture of sharp jutting angles and soft round ones that made it look somewhat friendlier. There were black highlights within some of the curves making it look like it had shadows built into it; on the side was a black circle with a sharp pointed R that was slightly raised off of the metal body. "Woah…" was the only thing the boy could say as he looked at the bike, excitement blooming in his chest as he looked down at it.

He heard a small chuckle on the other end of his communicator, Alfred's voice filtering through seconds later "your bike sir, you will find your suit within the box it is carrying." There was a small pause the sound of typing again filtered through before Alfred spoke once more "please do hurry, I believe that those costumed crooks are getting bored."

Harry shook his head slightly before moving to the bike looking at the black box that was secured to the seat, it was large and looked heavy the sharp R was in the centre of it. He lifted the lid expecting to find his makeshift costume; instead there was a firm red jersey that looked too made out of the same material as Batman's own costume. He stared at it for a moment before picking it up and holding it before him, "Alfred…?"

"I thought I would modify your costume slightly sir, yours was not truly made for practical means" the man explained, Harry nodding before remembering that he couldn't see him.

"Right…" the boy grinned to himself, he looked around once more before beginning to remove his own clothes quickly replacing them with the costume, he then stuffed them into the box and snapped it shut. He then removed it from the bike and looked around the alley; moments later, he found a space behind a group of dustbins and quickly shoved it behind them.

"Ready sir?" the crisp British voice asked, sounding half-amused and half-worried. "If you lift the seat of the bike you will find a helmet in a compartment."

Harry did as he was told and pulled out a dark red helmet putting it on as he quickly mounted his bike finding it slightly big but comfortable, he sat firmly on the bike gripping the handles tightly. "Ready" was the short reply, he then looked down at the bike slightly confused about how it worked as he got a firm grasp of it.

"It's on auto pilot" was the supplied answer as though the old Brit could hear his thoughts, the boy was silently grateful and followed the man's brief instructions on how to remain on the bike. A few seconds later, it took off, the small boy letting out a small 'Whoop' as it zoomed off down the empty streets.

-_Scene Break_-

The Joker was a happy man, now to those of you who have heard of him that would not come as a true surprise. He was called the Joker after all, being happy was expected. However right now he didn't believe he could be happier.

He stood in Gotham city centre, the shopping district to be more exact. Around him stood four other individuals, one was his girlfriend Harley Quinn his so called 'true love' who stood in her usual black and red jester garb. Next to her stood some of his henchmen, or as he liked to call them 'the dead meat'. They were all wearing what looked to be a mixture of prison uniforms and armour, their faces hidden behind oddly shaped gas masks with clown faces sprayed upon them.

On his other side stood two of his more…regular henchmen, Punch and Judy. The two were larger than the others were and dressed in dark brown suits, their faces covered in makeup to make them look like well-dressed clowns. Neither of them were actually smiling however both looking bored but at the same time on guard, keeping an eye on the bound man who was kneeling before them. Speaking of said flying rodent, the Joker looked over to watch his favourite enemy his eyes narrowing as a cruel smile appeared on his face.

Batman was not looking to sharp with his costume greatly torn up; many cuts peaked through bleeding heavily. His arms were bound behind his back by thick ropes his utility belt gone, now hanging around Harley's waist. The man was breathing heavily a few of his ribs had most likely broke, that would explain the pained grimace that would occasionally flash briefly on to his face.

Joker grinned at the man as his eyes met the white lenses of Batman's cowl, oh yes he was a very happy man. Batman scowled at him as he stared right back neither willing to back down, Jokers mind jogged back to one of his previous conversations with Batman. The unstoppable force vs. the immovable object. Well if he had his way, the object would be gone very soon.

"Joker! Release Batman!" he was brought out of his thoughts by Gordon's gruff voice, drawing the clowns attention back to his current situation as well as the few hundred cops who had set up a barricade around the them. Their guns were trained on the villain and his cohorts however not one of them dared to shoot, not with their dear 'Dark Knight' in the firing range, there was also the risk of the bombs that had been planted in the various shops around the centre.

Joker just laughed as he looked at the old man, a large smile forming on his face. "Release him? Now where would be the fun in that?" the clown asked his eyes narrowing slightly as he looked toward the giant clock set into one of the walls, time was almost up. Shame, he really wanted the first boy blunder or stupidman to attempt a rescue oh the fun he could have had torturing bats mind before he finished him off. He watched as the hands moved closer to the twelve, his smile growing slightly as he fished into his purple blazer. Moments later he withdrew his favourite gun, he cocked it a moment later before pointing it towards Batman the man snarling at him in defiance.

The henchmen chuckled slightly as they watched, ready for Joker to end their biggest pest. Joker just continued to smile, he could hear Gordon's panicked shouts ordering his men to prepare to open fire, Joker didn't care he just wanted this. He wanted this more than he had wanted anything for the longest time. The police began to shout, panic easily running through the ranks Bullock yelling orders in the background.

"Bye bye Batsy…" he said as he pulled on the trigger, however the motion was halted by a whirring sound a sharp metal object embedding itself in the floor, Joker froze as he stared at the object. He stared at the object in abject confusion, it was similar to Batman's batarangs in shape however it was coloured red and seemed more bird like.

Everyone stared at Joker the police having suddenly fallen silent as the goons took a few steps back from the clown, weary of the unknown attacker. Batman was also staring at the object looking surprised at first, a look of understanding flittered onto his face moments later as he worked out its owner.

Joker himself was surprised, not truly shocked as he had expected another hero to make a rescue attempt heck he had even _wanted_ Nightwing to come. However he had the distinct sense that this wasn't Nightwing 'then who…?' He thought to himself as he looked around over the heads of the police.

His question was answered moments later when a young voice rang out "mind if I cut in?" as this was said a yellow blur flew through the air, coming to land upon the bonnet of the police cruiser next to where Gordon stood. The commissioner along with a few officers took a few steps back staring at the small figure who stood facing the group of criminals, a smirk on his face.

They just stared back, disbelief upon some of the faces as some of the officers openly gaped at the young figure. The boy was wearing a full black body suit over which was a red jersey, green boots and gloves with two spikes upon the gauntlets. His yellow cape went to around his knees; a black hood lay around the neck area. On his face was a pointed green mask with large white lenses, a black and gold utility belt on his waist. However, it was the yellow R over where his heart that gave away his identity.

One thought went through all minds simultaneously 'Robin…'

The boys smirk didn't falter as he stood there waiting for a reaction, his black hair ruffled by the wind. Harry stood there listening as Alfred listed various weakness and relevant information to the villains in front of him, "I recommend you work on your aim sir."

Harry gave no reply knowing he would look insane if he did, instead he silently agreed with the man annoyed at how off target he was. He was way out of his class here and would definitely need Batman's help that meant he was going to need to find a way to free the man. A few seconds later, he had a plan 'let's hope this works…'

Joker who had up until this point been frozen in shock suddenly let out a loud laugh, his head falling back as his eyes clenched shut. No one moved as they watched the clown, a few moments later he appeared to regain control of himself, a large grin on his face as his crazed eyes fixed upon the boy. "Well aren't you just the sweetest little thing" he cooed this, before looking down at the oddly shaped metal. He then kneeled before it grasping it tightly as he yanked it sharply from the ground; he clutched the bird like object in his hand as if it was one of his own knives.

Robin said nothing in reply instead he tensed the muscles in his legs preparing them to take off, moments later he did. He sprung from the car moving with an unexpected speed, soon reaching the villains. He focused his attack on one of the smaller henchmen who was startled at the direct attack, the man tried to bring his arms up to protect himself however the boys easily bypassed this as he jumped up slightly and landed a blow upon the man's face. The other villains seemed to finally snap out of their shock, one of the men pointing his gun at him before opening fire. The boy had planned for this, using the falling criminal as a springboard, and back flipped out of the way, the criminal being hit in the arm by one of the bullets.

While in the air he twisted quickly pulling two more birdarangs from his belt, he threw these in mid flip silently praying to God that they stayed on target. His aim was true and they cut through the ropes like a hot knife through butter. Batman was up instantly pulling the ropes off as he moved, careful to avoid Punch's attack. He rolled and moments later stood next to the young boy, both of them moved into their fighting stances as they stood at the ready. The dark knight gave the boy a single nod before both moved in sync toward the villains.

Batman was back before Punch in moments now however he was prepared and easily rolled under the large fist, he threw a punch of his own followed by a spinning kick that knocked the man back and momentarily out of the fight. Batman then turned his attention to Judy who was aiming his gun at Robin; the boy was currently occupied with dodging Harley Quinn's attacks the lithe acrobat throwing endless blows at the child. The Dark Knight quickly pulled a hidden batarang from within his glove letting it fly moments later; it found its target and caught Judy by surprise. The man found himself even more surprised when said batarang exploded destroying the weapon the blast extending enough to catch his head, resulting in the man falling unconscious seconds later.

Robin was not having the easiest time with Harley the woman was a born acrobat, as well as this she could easily match the boys speed and like her boss had a wild unpredictable fighting style. As such, he found himself actually struggling slightly to stay out of her range, barely able to weave under the blows that came a little to close. 'This isn't going well, I need a plan' the boy found himself backing up slightly, his eyes widened behind his mask as an idea came to him.

He waited for a moment before she threw yet another punch; however, with this one he allowed himself to fall back his hands catching him, he then raised his legs and kicked out at her. He caught her mid stomach and sent her reeling back, the boy quickly jumped up reaching into his belt he felt around a few of the pockets quickly before finding what he was looking for. He pulled the bola loose and quickly threw it, Harley cried out as it caught her, causing her fall back to the ground.

As this had been happening, Punch had recovered and had once more attempted to grab the dark knight; Batman was prepared for this however and quickly dodged the blow. He waited for another hit, which he caught with his hand pulling the man forward while using his other hand to grab the man's head while bringing his knee up. His knee broke the nose upon impact, the power behind it driving the man into unconsciousness.

Batman then turned looking for the final villain, he found Joker standing slightly away from the battle grinning widely. That was never a good sign; as such Batman found himself moving swiftly toward the clown Robin right behind him. They stopped a few feet away from man, both ready for an attack.

"It's over Joker" Batman called out his voice showing anger; he wanted to get this over as quickly as possible his wounds aching dully. Robin stood at attention knowing better then to underestimate the man before him as such, he did not say anything instead, he followed Batman's lead and kept his defence up.

Joker smiled nastily at the two before raising his hand, both Batman and Robins eyes widened slightly in shock as they saw a detonator. Joker laughed and went to push the button when there was a sharp crack a bullet piercing the clowns arm. He let out a howl falling to his knees as he clutched at his arm, the detonator falling from his grip. He growled glaring at Gordon who held his gun at the ready, seconds later his eyes were searching for the detonator. He found it a few feet from him and dived for it-

However it was snatched from under his outstretched fingers by a green gloved hand, the boy jumping back as soon as the detonator was safely within his grasp.

Joker snarled at the child, rage swelling up within him. "GIVE ME THAT" he screeched and tried to once more dive, he was intercepted by a black booted foot that caught his chin and sent him reeling into unconsciousness.

Harry looked up at Batman who stood over the clown, the police rushing to apprehend the criminals. The boy walked to his side and looked down at the clown for a few seconds before back up at the man; Batman turned his gaze to the boy moments later. The child gave him a small smile before pulling his hand from beneath his cape, holding out the detonator to the man.

"So…how'd I do?"


	12. The Dynamic Duo

Authors note: Another chapter in one night? The authors lost her freaking mind! While that may be true I'm too tired to argue so go ahead read enjoy whateve's *waves tiredly at the screen*

Read review, you know the drill *yawns*

Disclaimer: To…tired to…be smart…ass…*snore*

Chapter 12: The Dynamic Duo

Harry watched the passing scenery go by in amazement, his bike swiftly making its way down the streets, weaving in and out of and passing traffic. He found himself particularly amused by the expressions on some of the driver's faces when they looked to see who was over taking them. The bike was of course on autopilot but Harry was still having the time of his life, this came to an end soon after he pulled into the alley next to his school.

He was slightly miffed by this but didn't complain instead he jumped off the bike and pulled off his helmet quickly placing it under the seat once more. He then ran over to where he had hidden the bod, he pulled it out and looked around the alley before changing out of his costume. He placed the costume carefully back into the box his hands stroking it slightly before he shut it with a small click.

"I recommend you rehide the box sir, you can then head straight to the cave after you have completed what remains of your school day." Alfred's voice filtered through the communicator once more, Harry automatically followed the instructions and put the box once more behind the garbage cans. He then turned back to the bike and cocked his eyebrow at it, how the heck was he supposed to hide that?

"Err…Alfred what about the bike?"

The bike suddenly disappeared the boy jumping back in surprise, "it has an in built cloaking device sir." The boy found himself nodding his mouth still hanging slightly ajar, as he stared at where the bike was concealed. "It also has a built in defence system that will prevent anyone from stealing it, now sir I recommend you make your way to your next class you are already ten minutes late."

Harry let out a small yelp at this and took off down the alley, re-entering the school moments later. He ran down the hallways all the while trying to be as quiet as possible, it did not really work that well.

He stopped at the wet break room finding it empty of all life, his bag still lying against the wall. He grabbed it before making his way to class, he arrived moments later and found himself trembling slightly as he stood before the door. Why was he shaking? He had just taken on two of Gotham's most wanted and lived, and now that he was slightly late to his class, he was shaking? Maybe his relatives were right about him not being normal.

"Good luck sir" was the small quip of support from Alfred.

The young boy gulped slightly and muttered thanks before taking the communicator out his ear and entering the class.

-_Scene Break_-

Well that had gone well, Mr Burgess had been so angry at his tardiness as well as his apparently poor excuse of being in the toilet that he had added on another two detentions, these would be served on Friday and the following Wednesday. Oh he couldn't wait…

The worst part had been the shouting, the man certainly had a pair of lungs on him and he wasn't afraid to use them. Dudley and his little friends had been openly grinning many of the others looking too frightened to grin themselves, to say it was a relief that the day was over was an understatement.

Apparently during break the whole class had ended up watching the news when the new Robin had appeared to save Batman, the reporters stating their disbelief as well as mentioning the fate of the previous while watching. As a result, they had spent the afternoon discussing whether this new Robin should be 'playing hero'. Harry understandably annoyed at this but could not say anything due to his previous claim of being in the bathroom, he was however amused when some of the kids said he was cool and that they liked him.

This feeling had soon died when Dudley claimed that he was a little freak who clearly needed to get better fashion sense, this coming from the boy who had to dress in clothes made for those who were twice his age and often looked like a pig in a wig.

When the bell had rung, Harry had been one of the first out of the door, quickly making a bee line for the front entrance. Once there he had to carefully make his way to the alley, making sure that none of the waiting parents were watching him as he did so. However once there he still had to wait a good twenty minutes for the crowd to die down, he then once more checked for any observers before pulling out the box. He changed swiftly and was soon once more in his Robin garb, the costume feeling good against his skin. He then stuffed his clothes once more into the box before going over to his bike, which automatically uncloaked itself when he was near enough. He reattached the box to the back before climbing on pulling his helmet into place. As soon as he was secure, the bike took off, the autopilot taking him to his destination.

Harry always felt intimidated when Batman took him to the cave, usually he could ignore it to a degree by entertaining himself with looking over the Batmobile. Now however he felt his first initial feelings of fear creeping back into place, the tall trees looming over him. The bike led him up various dirt roads that looked like they had not been used in many years, until he came out onto a more modern road, the bushes thinning slightly.

The bike sped up slightly, before sharply turning toward a section of the bushes. The small screen between the handlebars of the bike flashed for a second catching his attention, the words confirmation accepted appeared on it before he looked up to find himself inches from the bushes. On instinct, he shut his eyes and tensed his body despite knowing he would not impact anything. He opened them moments later to find himself entering into one of the caves narrow paths. The path hummed as the bike travelled smoothly up the path, entering the main chamber moments later.

The bike came to a stop next to the Batmobile which was parked on its platform, the top open. The boy stayed there for a few second before carefully climbing off the bike, He looked up and caught a shadow of movement up by the console. He quickly walked over and found Batman sat at the computer looking over the large display screen, a news article displayed there. Next to him stood Alfred in his usual dark suit and mask in his hands was a tray with two cups on it, he spoke quietly with the Dark Knight.

As he approached, the old man looked at him, giving him a small smile before looking back at Batman who had yet to reply. As he got closer, Batman said something which resulted in a slightly bigger smile from his companion who straightened up and turned to Harry, Batman turning along with him.

Harry feeling slightly awkward said the first thing that came to mind "Hey!"

"Hello sir, would you like a glass of hot chocolate?" the man asked a cheerful tone dominating his voice as he watched the boy.

Harry nodded in reply and moved to Alfred's side, grinning up at him as he was handed one of the cups from the tray. He took a small sip before turning to look at Batman who was still watching him his expression unreadable.

They stayed like this for a few minutes the boy not knowing what to do as the Dark Knight studied him, a small cough from Alfred however broke the awkward staring contest that had been occurring between the two and seemed to snap Batman back to reality. He gave the boy one more look before turning back to the screen his hands flying across the keyboard before him, "you did well today."

Harry smiled at this and looked up at Alfred who was also smiling. "But…" Harry's smile immediately dropped and he looked back at Batman who was still busy with the computer "your technique needs work, as well as this your strength proved to be a problem."

Harry frowned at this as he tried to remember when it was a problem; he hadn't even knocked any of them out. Oh, that was probably it. "What do you think I should do?" As he asked this he took another sip of his drink allowing it to warm him, the chocolate was just right in his opinion. He was already on intensive -well what he called intensive- muscle training, he had become well associated with the weights over the last few weeks.

Batman paused for a moment his eyes returning to the boy before he turns his chair slightly and opened a drawer on the console, he reached into it for a second before bringing his hand back out along with a small metal cylinder. He looked at it for a moment before throwing it to Harry who barely managed to catch it with his free hand.

Harry looked at it in confusion finding nothing truly amazing in the piece of metal it was light but at the same time felt very sturdy. Harry just continued to stare at it, giving Batman the occasional glance.

After a minute the dark knight sighed and reached over to take the metal back, Harry let him watching with open curiosity as the dark knight stood from his chair. He quickly moved around to the back of it his body facing Harry as he held it with both hands before him. Suddenly he began to spin it and seconds later the metal seemed to expand length ways, stopping a few moments later. Batman stopped spinning it then and held it before him showing Harry the bo-staff that he now held.

"Spinning it results in expanding, if you wish for it to return to normal put the palm of your hand on the end. There's a sensor in the tip that respond to one in your gloves." He then showed this and the staff retuned to its previous state, he held it out to Harry who took it amazement now plastered across his face. "This will hopefully give you an edge in battle, well at least until we get your muscles up to scratch." He then returned to his seat once more examining the screen as his hands flew over the keys.

Harry just watched him not knowing what to say in reply. He looked between the retracted staff and Batman, his eyes wide as he tried to come up with something to say. He had missed having his staff in battle; it had all ways given him an edge when he started out. Now that he was actually learning how to fight, he believed that it could only give him a bigger edge.

A small cough was heard from Alfred who then commented "best shut your mouth sir, you might catch a fly" amusement lacing his voice. Harry immediately snapped his mouth shut at this and gave Alfred a slight glance over his shoulder before looking down once more at the retracted staff. It was only slightly bigger than his palm in length but it was bigger than the pouches on his belt, so where was he supposed…?

"There's a modified pouch on the back of your belt, the staff will fit in there when it is fully retracted" not for the first time Harry found himself believing that Batman had the power to read minds. He gave a small nod and placed his drink back on Alfred's tray before feeling round his belt for the pocket. It was directly on his lower back and was easy to open much to his relief; he placed the staff within and clicked it shut before grabbing his drink once more.

Harry was just about to take a sip of it when something occurred to him, "wait a second…I thought it was Alfred who made this costume?"

Batman looked at him slightly from the corner of his eye and the boy could swear that he saw a smile tugging at the corner of the man's lips "he did, but I asked him to make it. I also made the bike last week in preparation. I knew that I would need your help sooner or later and I thought it best to be prepared."

Harry stared at him in disbelief; this man just would not stop surprising him. He glanced at the other platform his bike stood next to the Batmobile proudly; Harry found himself smiling slightly as he looked back at Batman. "Thanks…you didn't need to go to all this trouble," the boy said, he felt slightly guilty over how much effort Batman and Alfred had put into making these items for him.

Batman snorted slightly his eyes still fixed on the screen, "you need the equipment, therefore there is need to go to all the trouble." He glanced at the boy "your suit is made mostly out of Kevlar to stop most knife attacks as well as bullets. The black survival suit is made for all temperatures and will alter itself to suit your body's needs, become cooler in warmer weather and warmer in the cold. The tunic is reinforced and will provide protection for your organs, the gloves and boots are also reinforced but less so to keep you light and flexible." He paused momentarily and glanced briefly back at the screen before looking back to the boy once more. "The cape is made of a material known as memory cloth; it will allow you to glide from great heights and is light enough to not prove a hindrance while fighting. Your mask while flexible has an inbuilt electronic system that will allow you to pick up heat signatures and will provide night vision should it be required, it can also enhance your vision. The belt is made to carry all my standard equipment, as I said it is all for practical use the hood and the laces were Alfred's idea."

Harry just stood there stunned, he had no clue how to reply to that. The suit was definitely made for practicality and somewhat for stealth though he got the feeling that it was also Alfred who had made the cape yellow. He nodded slightly at the dark knight and noticed that Alfred had a slight smile on his lips when he turned to him.

"I wanted to keep it as close to the young sirs own designs as possible, that way it has his own touch to it" Harry smiled as the man said this. He was happy that Alfred had tried to include him in the design of the costume even when he was making it in secret. And he had to admit the man had an eye for it, the costume looked great in his opinion and still linked him to the other Robin while making him unique.

Batman just hummed in reply before finally turning his attention back to the screen "you'll need as many advantages as you can get while were out there. You are there to watch my back after all."

At this Harry grinned fully his gaze resting on the Dark Knight "does that mean that I can start going out with you? You know on patrol?" He was silently praying, hoping that the man would agree.

"Yes it does," Harry nearly shouted in happiness however the Dark Knight continued and managed to rain on his parade "however you will also continue your training here in between patrols, understood?"

Harry sighed slightly at this, his shoulders slumping as he allowed a look of displeasure to flit across his face. He should have known he could not escape the training that easily, as such he just muttered a small "understood."

"Well then I believe congratulations are in order young sir," Alfred's voice broke him out of his slightly mixed mood and caught his attention "and perhaps a cream cake." Harry just smiled up at the man; he was really beginning to like this guy.

"I'm afraid that will have to wait until we get back" Batman cut in brining both of his companions attention to him "there's been a break in at the main national bank" as he said this he stood from his chair fiddling slightly with his gloves as he turned to walk towards the Batmobile.

Harry stood next to Alfred slightly puzzled at what he was supposed to do; Batman just looked over his shoulder at him. Harry gave a slight nod and placed his cup hurriedly on Alfred's tray saying a quick thank you before running after Batman. He reached his side as the man jumped into the car once there he gave Harry another look and the boy soon joined him, quickly fastening his seatbelt.

As he did this, he failed to notice Batman looking at him, a small smile on the man's face. This smile was there for only a moment but Alfred noticed and found himself smiling as he watched the two. The cars top soon shut before it took off up the caves main entrance, Alfred remained there watching after it. He couldn't help but feel somewhat happy that the boy had come along and quite forcefully placed himself in their lives.

Since Jason had died Batman had further retreated into himself, hopefully this new Robin would be able to draw him out once more. He was also hoping that the boy would become so much more in the future, the elderly man truly hoped that Bruce's plan would work. That child so deserved a better home and someone who truly cared for him, Alfred was not sure what could be done to ensure this but his old friend seemed to know what to do. There was one thing Alfred was certain about however, Gotham had a new dynamic duo.


	13. The Great Amazo

Author Note: I managed to just about squeeze out the new chapter, and spent most my day doing so please show a little gratitude and review. To all of you who did review thank you I'm glad you liked the last few chapters but there's a few pretty obvious lines I need to go back and fix. Thank you to all of you who added this story to you favourites and alerts.

Right finally we make it into the Under the Red Hood as such…

Disclaimer: There are lines and scenes within this chapter that are taken directly from the Under the Red Hood film as such I don't own these they belong to their respective writers.

Please read and review this chapter is unbetad so expect mistakes

Chapter 13: The great Amazo

Harry sighed in frustration as he carefully stood from his desk, carefully observing Mr Burgess who had his focus on grading papers. His bottom and lower back ached dully protesting having sat on such an uncomfortable seat for such an extended period of time, the small twinges of pain could be considered punishment enough for the boy. His eyes briefly flickered to the round clock set above the old chalkboard as they had constantly for the past hour, the hands revealing that it was now quarter past four in the afternoon the school day having ended an hour ago for the rest of the student body. The detentions had all been the same; he would remain seated as the other kids rushed past him as the end of day bell rang Mr Burgess waiting until all the others had left before bringing over various work sheets for Harry to complete.

To be fair to the man he didn't just leave Harry to it, often trying to question Harry on if he understood the material and if he needed help completing them. Harry would politely decline these offers already at least slightly knowledgeable on the subjects and therefore confident that he could complete the tasks withou6t assistance. Mr Burgess often looked disappointed at the reply before returning to his desk to complete his own work tasks, casting a worried glance at Harry every now and again as the boy fully immersed himself in his work.

Harry thanks to the Dark Knights insane training regime had found himself more and more immersed in studying recently his time between training and the occasional patrol consumed by it. When questioned, Batman would reply that the boy needed to train all aspects of his body, his physical strength only being as powerful as his mental. Harry didn't really understand the statement as he believed that even really dumb people could be strong which therefore flawed the Dark Knights logic but he had simply nodded feigning understanding so as not to appear dumb to the man. As such the simple tid bits of information on crimes that he had been provided increased greatly, profiles as well as bits of something called psychology being integrated into his studying.

As well as this the man also demanded that Harry focus on his school work not wanting him to fall behind the other kids even as he was put thru physical exertion. He had been more than slightly angered to discover that Harry had three detentions and as such had decided to punish the boy for failing to perform adequately in his school work. This punishment –which was greatly unfair in Harry's opinion, he had only gotten the detentions due to the man's training schedule as well as his capture which led the boy to the conclusion that they were in fact his fault- included extra bonus training as well as a ban from patrol for the next few days. For the boy who had greatly enjoyed being able to head out and dispense punishment on criminals after such a long break, this was quite harsh.

Another sigh escaped his lips as he scooped up his work sheets carefully shuffling then into a somewhat neat pile as he walked toward his teacher's desk. He came to a stop in front of it his hands carefully holding the pile of paper in his hands as he looked at his teacher waiting for an acknowledgement of some kind. After a few moments it became obvious that Mr Burgess had yet to notice his presence fully consumed in his marking, Harry had to resist the urge to sigh again and gave a small cough.

When that didn't garner a reaction the boy decided to be a little more direct "sir…?" Mr Burgess's head snapped up so fast the boy was worried he might have what the adults called whiplash his dark brown bangs briefly becoming airborne before his head came to a halt. His eyes where wide and Harry could for the first time make out the colour of the man's eyes 'brown…huh who knew?'

The man had looked prepared for a small panic attack when those eyes settled on Harry the brief look of confused panic fading away to show calm warmth as he looked at the boy. "H…Harry heh you startled me…" he gave a small laugh as he brought his arm up to scratch the back of his head "sorry about that…I got lost in my thoughts, did you need something?" The man now looked hopeful as he stared at the young boy giving him his full attention.

The look quickly dropped when the boy shook his head slightly instead moving his own emerald eyes to above Burgess's head, the man following his gaze a moment later. "Oh…" his voice sounded slightly dejected to the boy as he brought his attention back to him "I didn't realise the time" he paused momentarily as he appeared to be trying to gather his thoughts his eyes clouding for a moments before he moved his gaze to the papers the boy carefully held in his hands. "Did you complete all the worksheets?"

Harry nodded once more and held them out for the man wanting to hurry this along, he had a long night of training ahead of him. The man sighed taking the papers from the boy and giving them a brief once over, a small nod of satisfaction was rewarded a minute later. "Right well, they appear to all be here…you can leave if you wish."

Harry just nodded once more turning to return to his desk to grab his rucksack pulling the old thing into place on his back before he turned heading for the door. "Wait!" Harry paused turning slightly to see that Burgess had moved from his desk and was now standing before him an oddly vulnerable expression on his face as he approached the boy, a minute later he had kneeled so as to bring himself on level with the child. "Harry…" his mouth opened for a second before he closed it, his eyes showing his conflict as he briefly looked away a pained grimace making itself present for but a moment before it was gone. "Harry…I just want you to know that if…if you ever need anything I'll be here. You just need to ask, alright?" Harry by this point was confused beyond belief at his teacher's actions and gave yet another nod in answer not sure how he was supposed to respond.

Burgess seemed to accept this as he smiled momentarily before giving the boy a slight pat on the shoulder "right well…you better get off home then its…its getting dark soon" finished he stood up turning to face the empty class room. Harry watched him for a moment confusion all to evident on his face before he decided to ponder it later, turning he walked out of the classroom. Halfway down the dark hallway he glanced back finding Mr Burgess staring at him, and the boy almost paused as the man's eyes appeared to briefly flicked yellow disregarding the idea as a trick of the light he carried on down the hall.

Burgess watched from the doorway a pained expression on his face as the boys emerald eyes turned back to watch where he was going, a single tear leaked from the man's eye as he watched one thought running thru his head. 'Oh Lily…'

_Scene Break_

Harry quickly made his way out of the school, careful to avoid the odd looking janitor as he hurried down the halls. When he finally made into the fresh air he gave a small sigh of relief, happy to finally have all his detention time over and done with. As he expected there was no uncle Vernon waiting for him, the man having firmly stated that he wouldn't be picking the boy up and that it was a punishment for him showing them up once more. Harry didn't really understand just how he had shown them up but thought better then to question his uncle to his face instead making the decision that he would ask Alfred for an explanation. The old man for once hadn't given one and looked rather angry when the boy explained that his family would not be coming to pick him up from his detentions, again Harry was confused by the odd behaviour but made the decision to just leave it alone for now. Speaking of Alfred…his communicator had begun to buzz from its place within his pocket the small device slightly tickling his covered thigh as he reached in to grab it.

He brought the device out quickly but cast a glance around him for any observers, fining the road that the school stood by rather busy today the boy decided to head to the alleyway were he would be better hidden from view. A minute later he stood in the alley quickly placing the communicator in his ear as he waited for a conformation from the other end.

"Ahh…good evening sir, I presume that your evenings detention has come to its conclusion" the crisp British accent as usual brought an instant smile to the boy's face.

"Yeah, tell Bats that I'll be at the corner as usual" Harry said as he started to walk to the other end of the alley intent on taking his usual route to where he and the Dark Knight would meet when Batman chose to bring him to the cave. He had only moved a few feet when Alfred's voice filtered thru the comlink once more his words halting the boy.

"I'm afraid that master Batman is preoccupied with a case at the moment sir, he will not be returning for a good few hours" as the words came thru Harry found himself frowning slightly, annoyed that Batman was out working a case without him once more. The man had accepted him as his student…well as accepting as he was surely this should mean that he should start treating Harry like his partner or at the very least confer with the boy. His fists unconsciously clenched tightly at his sides as he leaned against one of the alley walls his gaze fixed firmly on the ground. "But I am sure that he could use an extra pair of eyes on the case sir" Alfred's voice broke him out of his musings his anger briefly forgotten "I can have your costume sent on the Red Bird."

Harry smiled slightly at that remembering naming his bike that a few days after having received it; Alfred would often joke over his affection for an inanimate object. Harry in reply would stick his tongue out at the man often using any of his-extremely rare- spare time in the cave to polish the bike to the extent that it still looked brand new, the red on the frame practically gleaming even in the dull light of the cave. He frowned as his thought process returned to the present "but Al, Bat's said that I'm not to go out for at least another week." His voice came out weak to his own ears and a feeling of frustration washed over him irritated with his continuous bouts of weakness, he hated how small and weak his voice sounded. He was a hero now he was supposed to strike fear into the hearts of criminals not sound like he was about to cry.

Alfred didn't appear to notice as he took no notice continuing on "well sometimes sir I believe that master Batman needs a boot up the rear end and a forceful hand to show him that he is not all knowing" Harry snickered as the man spoke an imaginary image of Alfred delivering a firm kick to Batman's butt causing the boy to momentarily act his age, he stopped after a few moments but got the distinct feeling that Alfred was smirking on the other end of the communicator. "As such I believe a bit of defiance is needed every now and again to remind him that he needs help from those around him."

Harry paused for a moment contemplating Alfred's words his eyes shut, taking a deep breath he reopened his eyes a smirk now only his face. "How long till you can launch the Red Bird?"

A slight chuckle answered his question "It's already on route sir."

_Scene Break_

Batman was not having a good night- no that was an understatement he was having a terrible night. First off his current love interest Veronica had released a statement to the press claiming that they had made love the night before and that Bruce had apparently 'proposed'. As far as he knew –which he believed to be a lot as he had a perfect recollection of the night having been sober for the whole of it, his date not so much- there had been no 'love making' and as for the proposal, well he wasn't that stupid. Veronica was quite clearly a gold digger who was with Bruce for his fame and money no true interest in the playboy billionaire other than how good he was in bed.

Of course none of that reached the press who had ate up the story of a love struck billionaire like a fine gourmet meal, there was now speculation on when the wedding was to occur as well as if the two would elope to one of Bruce's holiday homes. Suffice to say he wasn't happy; the press had been hounding him all day for a statement going as far as to camp outside of Wayne enterprise while he was working. It got to the point where he finally relented and went and told the press that there was no wedding in the works and that he had never proposed. But had they blamed Veronica for the false story? Had they sympathised with him for yet another gold digger making an attempt at his fortune? Hell no! Apparently he was the bad guy as the press had taken the news in concept that he had simply used Veronica for sex before discarding her having apparently lost interest due to her being to 'clingy'.

The feminist rights comity were going wild and his reputation was taking a huge blow as a result, many papers were even calling him a pompous pig who should learn to grow up. Well he had, had it! The Daily Planet – a paper he had purchased many years ago- was the only one on his side and had quickly asked for an interview so as to counteract the scandal that Veronica had created. He had spent his afternoon being grilled by their best reporter Steve Nicholson medium sized man in his forties with black hair and an angular face- who had treated him like he was a witness in a murder interrogation. Bruce had not been happy but had allowed the harsh and very personal questioning so a story telling what had really happened could be put in the paper at the earliest convenience.

Even so when he had finally returned home at four he had been ready to hit the sack and never move again, of course that could never happen. The bat wave –a computer system he had installed many years ago to alert him to any impending emergencies or sightings of the Batsignal – had started up informing him of a robbery in progress at Gotham docks. He was just about to leave the emergency for the police to handle when he finally took notice of what they were stealing and from just who they were stealing.

He had no other choice then to dawn cape and cowl quickly making his way to the Batmobile he left without a word to a worried looking Alfred. He didn't have time to deal with the old man or a lecture on how he should be giving Harr- Robin. How he should be giving Robin the chance to come with him, frankly he didn't want the boy here not now. The situation could be dire if that cargo was activated and as such Gotham took priority over his young partner's feelings, besides the boy was grounded.

As soon as he had arrived at the docks he had caught sight of the men, they were by no means professionals and looked like they would have been more comfortable mugging someone on a street. For one they were making way to much noise as they loaded the large steel case that carried their cargo, two they were only using one guy for a look out and said look out was paying more attention to the other then the shadows around them. Quite frankly the guys were rank amateurs, there was no way this was there bust they had to be working for a higher up of some kind. These men weren't high enough in any of the gangs to have garnered his attention meaning that they would not be high up enough to have contacts worth information on this job. His eyes narrowed slightly as they caught sight of an odd looking drill, which was Lexcorp tech if he was correct. This was definitely not their job.

Sighing slightly to loosen his body of the tension he stiffened his muscles before propelling himself from his vantage point on one of the metal containers he was perched upon, flipping forward as he landed perfectly before the men. All five turned towards him looks of horror on their faces, for a moment no one moved. Then it all went to hell. The lookout pulled out a gun from within his jacket three of the other men running to climb in the truck as the last locked the door of the truck moving to follow the other three. Batman merely growled launching a batarang at the first man's gun, the batarang served its job and knocked it out of his hands to scrape across the floor.

The man stared at the gun in disbelief before turning his attention back to Batman, he released a war cry before charging head on his arm drawn back to punch the Dark Knight. Batman merely deflected the oncoming punch before returning with one of his own to the man's face. The man rolled slightly as he hit the floor his hand moving to hold his face as he stared up at Batman with fear, Batman took a step forward about to finish the man when there was a distinct metallic click. He turned finding the fifth man standing there holding the discarded gun, a twisted smirk on his face, "say nighty night bats!"

'Idiot! Should have watched my surroundings I need to-'Batman's thought was cut short as a bola appeared out of nowhere quickly wrapping around the man causing him to lose his hold on the gun which fell to the floor out of his reach. Moments later a second bola shot out catching the man on the floor who fell back with a yelp his hand now to his face.

"Need some help?" turning Batman came face to face with Robin who stood on his previous perch spinning a bola almost playfully.

"What are you-" He was cut off once more only this time by the roar of an engine as the truck roared to life, the wheels screeching as it span round to face where Batman stood its lights blazing. He could faintly see the silhouette of the driver as the truck started moving. However it was not only Batman but also the two men who were in danger of being flattened by the vehicle, thinking quickly he released two batarang's at the oncoming truck one hitting the front screen causing a crack to form while the other hit the right head light cutting the intense glare by half. He then ran forward grabbing hold off both of the bound men in time to force his body into a jump. He landed on the bonnet before forcing his body into another jump this once moving him to the roof of the truck from which he jumped to a near container barely making it.

He dropped the two men who looked ready to wet themselves before turning to face Robin who stood looking beyond relieved as he held the bola loosely at his side. Batman ignored it moving to follow after the truck "Come on!" he commanded as he passed the boy, Robin just turned to follow struggling to keep up with his mentor. They jumped from container to container barely keeping pace with the truck that appeared to be heading toward the river, as he watched a plan formed in the Dark Knight's mind and he turned his head slightly to address Robin. "Robin I have a plan…"

The boy listened silently and when Batman had finished gave a sharp nod before turning to the left racing across the thicker stacks of the containers. Batman continued forward knowing exactly what he had to do.

_Scene break_

The truck flew down the road its three passengers jostling against one another slightly as they turned sharply onto the more open road that followed the river the tires screeching in protest as the driver attempted to pull it under his control. A few minutes later it was steady on moving in a more controlled fashion, its three occupants still panicking didn't really notice.

"Go! Go! Go!" Ronnie- a rather tall man with dark hair and mutton chops- shouted as he pointed to the road, panicking over the close call. He was shivering slightly in fear his dark blue coat doing little to conceal it as his heart pounded loudly in his ears as his other hand clenched tightly to the doors overhead handle.

His companions looked at him for a moment but didn't question him as they to felt similar feelings of panic, Nate a young twenty year old who had been appointed the position of getaway driver focussed his gaze on the road once more his hands gripping the wheel tightly. He took a deep steadying breath before questioning the other two "where's Raymond and Benny?"

"He got em, just scooped em up" Rob said as he pointed behind himself with his thumb, worry on his face as he watched Nate.

"Screw it! Just go!" Ronnie yelled as he looked at his companions. "Get us out of here" as he finished he turned his gaze back to the road, the nervous feeling reeling in his gut. As this was said they entered into another area surrounded by the metal containers, it wasn't their first choice for an escape route but it was the quickest and therefore their best chance at getting away.

They all failed to notice the shadow of a bat move over the containers close to the rear of the truck all to focused on escape.

Nate turned to his companions after glancing briefly in his rear view mirror "you think I lost him?" he questioned Ronnie who looked in the opposite rear view mirror before turning to answer him smiling as he spoke.

"I think you lost him" Rob didn't look too convinced and kept his gaze focused on the road, nervous tension racking his frame. A moment later he turned his gaze to Ronnie whose smile had grown "I think we're good."

Suddenly Batman landed on the bonnet his feet making a dull thud as he crouched his eyes focusing on the three men all of which who looked ready to scream as they stared back in utter disbelief his cape flapping dramatically in the wind. "No you're anything _but_ good."

Ronnie recovered first and pulled a shot gun from his foot area pulling the barrel back in preparation for the shot, his eyes narrowing on his target. Batman jumped over the shot onto the cab roof, the windscreen wasn't as lucky and shattered raining glass on the three men and momentarily blinding them as they protected their eyes with their arms.

_Scene Break _

Harry raced across the containers barley keeping his balance at time as he leaped over large gaps toward his destination all the while keeping an eye out for the truck, thanks to his short cut he arrived at the canyon of containers before the men had even turned from their original path. He quickly got to work pulling a large amount of orbs from the pouch Batman had informed him of before throwing them toward the centre of the road below the orbs landed with a small clacking sound spikes suddenly shooting out to form a shape similar to batwings.

Harry smiled slightly before turning his attention to the approaching form of the truck watching as Batman purposefully distracted the men to prevent them from noticing the spikes as the truck continued forward.

_Scene Break_

Nate opened his eyes looking thru the now shattered screen with worry, only for his eyes to go as wide as saucers as he caught sight of something black and shiny on the road before the truck. However he didn't have time to turn away the truck suddenly rocked violently as the tires blew the truck rocking from side to side as the rims dragged across the ground causing sparks to fly leaving smoke in its wake.

Nate held desperately onto the wheel trying to regain control as the three slid into one another, suddenly a hand came crashing thru the passenger window grabbing Ronnie by the hair and forcefully pulling him thru it as the shotgun fell from his limp hand. Rob yelled as he recoiled from the window into Nate, who was pushed further into the door his arm twisting the wheel accidently to the left causing the truck to lose what limited balance it had. It tilted onto two wheels and forcefully smacked into the metal containers the back doors opening in response to the violent vibration, the metal case falling from the back to clang against the ground as a metal container fell just barely missing the box.

The truck continued on before finally losing its balance once more falling, this time not being caught by a wall as the speed caused it to continue sliding down the road spinning slightly before it finally came to a stop as it slammed into a stack of the containers. Dust settled in the air for a moment as the chaos stopped, Nate blinked from where he awkwardly lay noting that he was on top of Rob who appeared to have passed out. He moaned slightly in pain as he looked outside the shattered screen, his eyes focusing upon the barrel of the dark shotgun which appeared to have fallen out during the crash.

He quickly released an arm and desperately grasped at the gun only a few feet away, his actions were halted by a dark booted foot coming down on his hand causing him to yell out as he quickly withdrew his arm holding his injured hand to his chest a minute later he was pulled from the cab by Batman who held him above the ground by his shirt. A slight thud drew Nate's attention to a young boy who stood on the cabs side smirking up at him

"Who are you working for?" Batman asked drawing his attention back to his current position as he was held slightly higher from the ground, the white slits of Batman staring back coldly. Nate flinched feeling fear overwhelm his senses however there was another he feared more than Batman, and he knew his boss would be less forgiving then this guy.

"N-nobody…we…we just boosted the truck and eh…" he paused desperately trying to think of something to back up his lie.

Batman sneered at him shaking him slightly as replied "lie to me again and crashing into a wall head on will be the least painful activity of your evening."

"NO!" he shouted reconsidering the idea about Batman being more forgiving "I-I swear to God…" he suddenly trailed off as he heard a distinct beeping sound coming from somewhere to his right. The box that had fallen from the truck lay a hundred yards away twin red lights were flashing as an odd green circle seemed to move. Suddenly smoke erupted from the bottom rising into the air as the top split into two and opened, the case further split before it slid open revealing and something orange bent over.

Suddenly the orange from moved revealing a stern head with glowing red eyes, an oddly shaped black Mohawk serving as hair to the creature. Batman moved quickly pulling both of the men over to the cab before handcuffing them to the rail, Robin who had simply stood in silence so far asked the most obvious question "what is that?"

"The cargo."

Batman turned back to face the creature who had by this time stood to its full height revealing what should be an impressive physique, around his wrists were oddly coloured green gauntlets that reflected in the dim lighting. On his legs he wore a pair of matching green pants that led down into boots that appeared to be made of the same material, on his waist was a matching belt with a stylised A in the centre.

"It's called Amazo." Stated Batman his eyes never moving from the odd figure, Robin watched with open amazement baffled by the figure.

"What the hell is an Amazo?" demanded Nate as leaned further into the metal behind him, Rob finally coming around only to stare in horror at the figure.

"A highly advanced cybernetic android equipped with the ability to absorb the power of super humans" Robin stared wide eyed at Batman, 'super humans?'

Once again Nate butted in looking at Batman nervously "what kind of super humans?"

Suddenly the android brought its hands up above it head, clenching them together tightly before it drove them into the concrete below sending a ripple through the road. Batman simply back flipped landing on the truck as jolted back to the ground, Robin had not expected the attack and found himself knocked off balance by the wave falling onto his butt as he looked up at Batman whose eyes were fixed upon the machine. "Big ones" muttered Batman in reply before he turned to look at Robin in the eye, "Robin stay here!"

With that said the man jumped from his perch and ran towards the creature pulling out a smoke bomb from the belt as he moved, said device was thrown at the creature that reached out and grabbed it crushing it within its massive hands. Smoke immediately erupted around the two Batman using it to his advantage to launch a series of kicks and punches to the creatures head, upon landing he span throwing another punch only for the creature only for his wrist to be caught. He was pulled around to its front before being released mid-air. Knowing what was to come Batman pulled up both arms forming an X shape before his chest in time for Amazo's fist to drive into him. He was launched back only coming to a stop when he collided with the metal containers behind the truck, he fell forward landing on his hands and knees leaving a large dent when he had collided.

Robin watched I shock as Batman forced himself back to his feet looked pained for a moment as he tried to shake it off. Harry growled to himself as he sprang from his place on the truck ready to charge the creature when a new voice stopped him.

"Packs quite the punch for a toaster on steroids huh?" looking up they all found a young man standing in skin tight spandex with an odd blue design around the shoulders. Robin's eyes narrowed as he looked up at the figure in confusion 'who's this guy supposed to be?'

The guy was grinning down at them all, his gaze mostly fixed upon Batman who had yet to move. "Need a hand?" he offered.

Batman simply turned his back to him once more sending Robin a warning look before charging back towards the creature with a curt "no."

The guy didn't look the least taken aback as he watched the retreating back "ok, well how bout I stick around and watch" it was a statement rather than a question as he quickly flipped down onto the truck then to the road beginning to follow after Batman. Suddenly Amazo made another move grabbing the previously fallen container before throwing it at Batman who simply ducked under it, it continued on and both Robin and the stranger had to flip out of the way. The other showing great skill as he used his acrobatics to prevent himself from being crushed by the large piece of metal, he returned to the floor moments later and shot a curious look at Robin before taking off after Batman.

Robin himself had managed to land on the top of the truck watched the two forms as Batman and the stranger moved in sync to perform attacks on the android.

Nate who had remained silent as he observed the fight finally voiced his curiosity "who's that other one? The pretty boy in the leotard."

Rob leaned in slightly as he replied from his awkward position "That's Nightwing, the bats first sidekick. The first Robin." Robin's eyes grew even wider as he turned to watch the two in shock, the first Robin? No wonder Batman was more willing to fight the android with him, he had trained him. As he watched Harry felt an unexplainable flame of anger and a tightening in his chest as he watched the two work together to drive the robot back. Minutes later they took off across the containers the creature following close behind as Harry watched with discomfort, the two crooks started chattering amongst themselves as soon as the creature was out of sight but Harry filtered them out feeling a pang of lowliness as he stood there and waited for the return of his mentor.

There was one thing he was sure of, he didn't like Nightwing.


	14. Nightwing's lead

Authors note: Right well here the new chapter, there will be no update over the weekend as I'm in Blackpool, so please read review and tell me what you think. Thank you to all reviewers and all tjose of you who have added this to your favourites.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, the characters and lines taken from any fandom belong to their original creator.

Chapter 14: Nightwing's lead

Finally it was over, it had taken stuffing C4 into the things eyes but finally the –now headless- android went down. It hit the ground with sickening crunch oil splattering from its neck in an eerily similar way to blood, dark smoke wafting up into the air as sparks flickered from damaged wires. Batman was glaring down at the thing, the slits of his cowl narrow as he looked over the damage they had caused.

It had been a close battle; the droids ability's giving it an obvious edge against the two. Even so the two had taken on super powered enemies before; as such they knew the dos and don'ts that came with said fights. Their team work had also given them an edge, Nightwing's presence having distracted the robot enough that Batman could sneak up behind it an end the fight.

Nightwing himself was currently giving the thing a glare not too happy about nearly being sliced in half by the androids eye lasers. He had utilised his natural acrobatic ability to flip out of the robots way- twice! The thing had been staring him down after he had landed its eyes glowing in preparation for another attack; Batman had made his move then and saved him the trouble of having to dodge. The once proud machine was now nothing more than a piece of junk, the lack of self-repairing answered his suspicion of this not being the real Amazo. Rather it appeared to be yet another cheap knock off, there had been a large number appearing after the real android had been taken down by the Superman a few months ago. These copies while having the originals ability to absorb ability's lacked its ability to heal as well as adapt to counter its enemies, clearly the creators were skilled just not as skilled as Ivo.

As such while thing was dangerous it wasn't dangerous enough to warrant calling in the man of steel to dispose of it, which therefore begged the question-

"So…what do we do with it?" he looked over at Batman an eyebrow cocked behind his sharp domino mask, his hand on his hips with a cocky smile playing on his lips.

The Dark Knight turned his head towards him a small smile briefly on his own face, before he turned back toward the machine. He paused for a moment before briefly glancing up towards a nearby crane, the cables hanging limply. Nightwing caught on a minute later and gave a small sigh as he looked at the cables himself, "let me guess…string him up?"

Batman smirked before turning to walk in the direction they had originally come from.

"Of course…" Nightwing groaned reluctantly turning to face the broken robot before moving to complete his allotted task before the Dark Knight returned with his 'suspects'.

_Scene break_

Harry tapped his foot slightly as he stared into the distance, his eyes scanning for any more evidence that the fight was going on. It had only been a few minutes but there had been a range of noise as well as smoke wafting from the area, not to mention explosions. Only moments ago he had spotted a blur of orange in the sky – which he assumed was Amazo- it had been quickly gaining altitude before suddenly falling. Harry couldn't be sure but he thought that he had seen two other blurs as well –one of which was in the arms of the android- but he couldn't be positive, he had tried to use the 'advanced vision' -as Batman called it- in his mask however by the time he had looked back up Amazo had been falling. It had gone quiet after that, only a small bang a few minutes later suggesting the fight had continued on, Harry watched for anything else but after a longer period of silence he had drawn his attention away. Instead he was now concentrating on learning how activate the features of his mask, after a few minutes of fiddling he finally ran his gloved finger down one of the spiked edges bored when his vision suddenly became green.

He jumped slightly surprised before glancing round in wonder, nothing looked different as the ship yard was well lit even at night as such the green tinge was actually stinging slightly rather than helping. Growling lowly to himself he once more reached up to the edge of the mask and ran his finger down it, pausing as he felt a small raised edge near the centre. He pushed on it lightly and suddenly his vision returned to its normal colour, he sighed in relief as he rubbed his masked eyes as they had watered slightly. A minute later he chose to explore further and reached up for the other edge finding another slightly raised area he once more gently pushed on it, suddenly his eyes widened as he suddenly appeared to be looking thru binoculars, able to read a distant containers label with ease.

He blinked slightly and barely resisted the powerful urge to yell 'cool' as he remembered that the two men were still with him –albeit chained to the broken truck and chatting among themselves, but they were still there- instead a large grin came on his face and he turned around intending to see just how far he could see with his new equipment.

Only to be met with two large white slits.

The boy let out a small scream as he fell back onto his butt his eyes as wide as saucers as he stared up at a displeased looking cowled face, he was breathing hard as he finally took in the zoomed image of his mentor.

Batman simply crossed his arms in greeting looking down at the boy as he attempted to calm himself; Harry himself was by this point lightly blushing as he forced himself to stand up ignoring the way his limbs were still subtly shaking from panic. Reaching up he quickly pushed on the raise once more the zoomed vision returning to normal before he looked away his yellow cape shifting slightly to cover his arms.

Batman cocked an eyebrow behind his cowl, not quite sure why he found the sight so amusing, having to quite forcefully force down the urge to give this child a smile as he had Dick. But Dick was a different case; he could trust him he was his son after all. This was his student, one that he had reluctantly taken on and one that he wasn't prepared to let in just yet. The boy was a hard worker there was doubt about that having trained him for the past few weeks but at the same time he was still young and naive, still vulnerable to the belief that the world was a happy place. This child had suffered yes but not to the extent he or Dick had, this child had lost his parents to an accident he and Dick had lost theirs to crime.

There was a connection between the two for that simple fact; they shared the same goal the same purpose in life. They had been forced into this life; this boy had chosen it out of loneliness and a misplaced hero worship. Even so the boy had potential and a drive that Bruce had seen in few others, he admired that especially from one so young as such he believed that was enough to give the boy a chance. He had been living up to his expectations thus far and had surpassed a few even so he was still a child no matter how much effort he put into hiding it. That wasn't what was worrying Bruce, no what was worrying him was the small fondness he felt for the boy that he barely knew. He had been putting effort these last few weeks into finding a way to remove the boy from his family –legally and without suspicion. So far there had been little success he couldn't find a reasonable reason for his other identity to take interest in the boy, and if Batman was to interfere it would become quite apparent that the boy was somehow involved with him.

Despite this he had a vague idea playing with his mind and if he was lucky he could put it into play soon enough, but the apparent fondness still worried him. He knew all too well that emotions could be dangerous in the field it was one of the main reasons he kept himself bottled up and at a distance even from those who worked with him. He had made the mistake of allowing himself to get too close to Jason and look where that had ended up; he had been left alone his son dead.

That dark thought train abruptly brought him back to reality as he forcefully shut away all thoughts of Jason, now was not the time. He had a case to solve and a boy to teach…a new boy that was currently looking up at him in confusion while his mouth was moving. He snapped himself from his thoughts and caught the end of a question "…alright?"

Catching on he gave a sharp nod before jumping to the ground and un-handcuffing the two men from the metal bar –both had fell silent upon the reappearance of the Dark Knight the previous feelings of fear and anxiety returning in great lengths. Batman said nothing and started to lead them down the road with his hands firmly clamped around the chains of the handcuffs, Harry blinked were he stood before jumping down himself to follow them. He glanced back once at the wrecked truck before running slightly to catch up to the others.

They walked in an uncomfortable silence Harry mostly keeping his gaze on the back of the Dark Knight or on the passing containers. They paused momentarily to pick up the other thug from the van who Batman had bound with another set his handcuffs, he was forcefully pulled along by Batman as they headed toward the open docks. Harry looked around curious as to why they were heading here when his eyes found Nightwing who was leaning casually against an old crane a smirk on his lips and arms crossed over his chest.

The white slits of his mask met Harry's for a moment and he gave a small wave with his right hand, Harry glared back resulting in a confused frown from the other. Harry paid him no more attention as he turned look at Batman once more finding the Dark Knight preoccupied with placing the bound men against a nearby container, he sighed slightly before moving to stand near Nightwing but with a gap big enough to suggest that he had no intention of speaking with the other. Nightwing was looking at him once more but didn't attempt to speak to him again, Harry kept himself forcefully facing Batman resisting the childish urge to glare at the other.

Batman approached them minutes later his expression blank as he came to stand between the two much to Harry's relief, he paid neither of them any attention as he returned his focus to the other three who were staring up at them nervously.

"This shipment was meant for the Black Mask, I doubt you're behind this. Who do you work for?" Batman questioned, his tone even and barely hiding a concealed threat. The looks on the men's faces suggested that they knew this all too well, however Harry was too busy puzzling over the name Batman had mentioned. 'Black Mask…Black Mask…why does that sound so familiar?" The boy barely heard the others reply as he tried to remember exactly where he had heard the name before.

"I swear…were not working for anyone" the man who had spoken turned to glance at the other two who were giving him fearful looks which spoke of how frightened they truly were "this is our gig, all our idea."

He had returned his gaze to Batman but the Dark Knight gave him no indication of believing him, instead he turned his head to glance at Nightwing who stood a little off behind him to the left. "Let it go."

A smile was once more upon his face as he replied "right", for the first time Harry noticed that he held some kind of remote in his hand a single button in the centre. He pushed it and instantly there was a rattling from above, the boy looked up to find an orange body wildly flapping as it fell toward the man that had spoken. Harry gasped slightly at the sight of the headless body with oddly sharp mettle limbs as it came to a halt just above the man, oil spewing from the neck onto his face.

Batman glanced back at him but didn't comment and soon returned his gaze to the men as the man screamed "I-I-I'll talk! J-Just stop, Just stop!" he screamed the last part, the action clearly haven shaken him as he stared wide eyed at the three heroes before him.

Nightwing in response to such an answer pushed the button once more and the body was reeled up by thick cables that connected it to the crane above. Batman himself walked forward his cape shifting slightly as it hid his body from view, his eyes narrowing on the man as Nightwing followed him.

"The Red Hood! We're working for the Red Hood! We…we don't have a choice…he's got us-" the man was cut off as a low whirring sound shot past them all and impacted the body with a sickening thud, the man slumped forward his eyes wide and glassy a dark pool of red staining his shirt. Harry gasped once more and took an unconscious step back his eyes wide, as he stared in horror. Two more whirring sounds followed both of which impacted the other two thugs who sat against the container, both of them slumped over their eyes wide but unseeing.

Harry felt frozen he couldn't move his own eyes away from the forms, his mind blank as he stared at the red stains on their chests. 'Their dead….their d-dead…' he couldn't move, his mind was screaming at his body but nothing would work his fingers twitching futilely at his side.

Suddenly a large black hand grabbed him by the upper arm and forcefully pulled him behind a mettle beam, the arm remaining firm as if to keep him from moving away. He looked up to find Batman looking down at him a frown on the visible part of his face, Harry opened his mouth to speak but could not find the words his mind to shocked by what had just occurred. A moment later Batman had let go Harry now returning his gaze to the men as he leaned heavily against the beam behind him, his hands limp at his sides.

"The shots came from the roof top" Nightwing called over from where he had hidden, the crane keeping him from view of said sniper. He was leaning against the metal himself as he looked over a Batman and the boy who was staring at the bodies in shock, he himself cast a brief glance back at the men "a good one."

Batman didn't reply as he fished into his belt pulling loose a pair of high tech binoculars, he then glanced down at Robin whose gaze was once again fixed on the men. He reached down and lightly shook the boys shoulder, the child in response blinked up at him before looking away again this time away from the men much to the Dark Knight's relief. Confident that the boy would be fine for now he left his cover using the binoculars to locate the man. He was on the roof of an old building that over looked the harbour; however there was a lack of light meaning that only a silhouette was visible. Even so he had him. Nightwing who had left his own cover to stand a few feet behind looked at Batman enquiringly, watching from the corner of his eye as the young boy slowly moved from his own cover to do the same thing. The child looked extremely shaken but he was holding it together for now, his gaze focused on Batman's back even as his arms subtly shook.

Nightwing guessed that he had never seen anyone die before, he couldn't blame the kid. He still remembered the first time he had seen someone die, of course they had been his parents but he had been in a similar state. He turned his attention back to Batman, who was lowering his binoculars his gaze still focused over the harbour.

"See him?" he questioned as he gestured to the building, his own eyes flicking to look I the direction.

"Yeah" Batman suddenly pulled a remote from his belt; Nightwing looked at him questioningly before he heard the roar of an engine overhead. Harry and Nightwing looked up to see an oddly shaped black jet pass overhead a cable lowering from its bottom. When it was close enough Batman grabbed a firm hold of it while placing his foot in a hook at the bottom of the cable, the line reeling back up taking him with it.

Harry gasped and ran forward slightly Nightwing himself yelling "hey wait!" Both stopped and watched as Batman disappeared into the jet which quickly made its way into Gotham. Harry stood frozen staring after his mentor, disappointment welling up in his chest as he stood frozen. Batman had left him behind…again.

"Right…" Nightwing sighed as he turned to look down at Harry for a moment before turning to face the three dead men "leave me- us with them." Nightwing once more turned to look at the young boy whose gaze was still fixed on the city. An awkward silence descended moments later and he stood looking at the boy in curiosity, the child didn't seem to notice as he stood stock still.

"So…." Nightwing started attempting to get the boy to talk to him, the kid jumped slightly at his voice and turned to glance. He stared at him blankly for a moment before he was glaring once more, an angry pout on his mouth. Nightwing completely baffled held both hands up in a peaceful gesture before continuing "hey now, what's with the look?"

Harry didn't reply instead turning to walk towards the containers, he paused slightly as his gaze caught sight of the men again before he forcefully shook himself and continued on. He stopped mid road and reached into his own belt, withdrawing a small remote similar to Batman's. Moments later the sound of an engine filled the air once more only this one had a low almost purring sound to it, the Red Bird zoomed around the corner and came to a stop in front of the boy. Harry quickly pulled his helmet on before mounting the bike, he clicked the control panel and moments later he was gone without a second glance at Nightwing who stood staring after him.

Nightwing just stood there his arms loose at his sides and his mouth slightly agape '…I never got a bike…'

_Scene break_

Batman growled lowly to himself as he weaved in and out of building, knowing the Gotham land scape off by heart helped in situations such as this. It was also one of the main things that had allowed him to chase after the assailant in what looked to be a stolen convertible. He had already made an attempt to stop this chase shooting a cable into the soft roof in the hopes that it would pull the car to a stop, unfortunately this hadn't worked as the man –for he assumed the figure was male- had simply released the roof which had flown off into the sky attached to the jet by the cable. Batman had quickly cut this on a remote spot making sure that the light piece of metal would not land on anyone. From there the chase had escalated the man weaving in and out of traffic while making sharp turns at unexpected intervals.

The Dark Knight had to grudgingly admit that the man knew what he was doing; another turn brought them to a factory that Batman knew all too well, a large fence and gate sealed to prevent entry. This didn't stop the car as it promptly ran thru the gate and then into one of the metal shutters and out of sight. Batman's eyes narrowed as he watched this before pulling the jet up into a loop, as it came back down over the glass window in the roof he pushed the auto deploy which dropped him from the compartment he had entered from.

He dropped then his legs straight as he smashed thru the glass he then bent them and held out his right arm to absorb the impact as he landed upon a metal cat walk. His cape pooled around him as he stood up pieces of glass tinkling as they settled on the walkway, he glanced around himself looking for any sign of his prey. His gaze landed on the blue convertible it had crashed into a large vat of red liquid; it had cracked slightly and was leaking the liquid onto the bent bonnet.

A slight shuffling sound drew his attention to another section of the walkway, one that had a new railing. His eyes narrowed as images suddenly appeared before him, a man in a well-tailored black suit and bow tie was backing away from a younger version of himself. On the man's head was an oddly shaped red helmet that attached to a long cape of matching colour; the Red Hood.

"Please no…" he said holding up his white gloved hands up before himself, "I-It's a set up…" he grasped onto the rail holding his hand out before him to keep Batman away. "Wait…" he was almost whining now his voice low and desperate, Batman merely raised a pair of handcuffs in response the links clicking lowly as they shifted. "I'm not a crook! I swear!" the man's voice had risen in volume as he grasped the helmet with both hands and began to pull it off. As he did so he took a step back his foot slipping slightly on the cape as his body fell against the old rail. The rail suddenly bent the man's body falling thru the air as if in slow motion his hands reaching desperately around him as he screamed. Batman had ran to the edge of the platform and attempted to grasp the man's hand, missing by inches as the man fell into the vat below, the res liquid bubbling as a single playing card rose to float on its surface.

The Joker.

Batman watched as the memory faded away, blinking as he found himself next to the new rail looking into the vat below. He grasped the rail tightly within his hand before turning his gaze up, he bared his teeth as he caught sight of his adversary standing on a walkway that hang slightly above the one he was currently on.

"Hard to forget that night, huh?" the man questioned a gun pointed straight at the Dark Knight. He was dressed in what appeared to be dark grey combat pants, a light grey jumper and a dark brown leather jacket that made his frame appear bulkier. He was wearing thick black boots that had metal plates at intervals, thick gloves however the most prominent piece of his attire was the dark red helmet with twin white slits for eyes. It looked thick but stable and was clearly light enough that the figure had no problem wearing it, his body also appeared well muscled even in the low light suggesting that he was a fighter.

"In a way Batman this was the sight of your first great failure" he paused to pull cock the pistol, Batman just stared at him blankly. "Maybe your greatest, but certainly not your last right?" his voice had lowered on that last part and Batman had the impression that he was implying to something that Batman should remember. When Batman didn't reply instead just shifting his stance to face the ma further, the man leaned forward slightly "ahhh…memory's."

Batman's eyes narrowed further and his mouth hardened as the man suddenly turned the pistol away, pointing it instead at the crashed car that was by now covered in the red liquid. He shot it, the bullet bouncing off the rear of the vehicle causing a spark to suddenly occur, the liquid instantly catching it resulting in a chain reaction. Flames sprung to life following the path to the vat, resulting in it exploding a large wall of flames springing up. Batman covered himself with his cape, the material burning slightly as he bared his teeth; he glanced upward in time to see the man turning to run the opposite way down the cat walk. He growled lightly as he pulled his grapple out using it to swing himself to the platform, he landed moments later and instantly took off after him. Suddenly the flames caught onto what fuel was left in the cars engine resulting in an explosion that launched the convertible off.

It cut thru the walk way and blocked Batman's path, the man continuing on unnoticed. Suddenly the cat walk collapsed Batman falling back, he managed to launch his grapple once more. The line caught onto a section of the ceiling and pulled the Dark Knight up and away from the vat of red liquid that he had been inches away from reaching. Moments later the same vat exploded in flames like the previous had throwing the Dark Knights thru the broken sky light and over the building's roof. He collided with the floor hard but managed to reduce the impact by rolling, he stopped a few feet away his eyes wide and his breathing heavy as he watched the building explode the flames bursting thru the glass, casting large shadows all around. Black smoke billowed from the roof as sparks raced out, the sound of fireworks briefly making an appearance before everything quieted once more no sound other than the sound of flames. Batman stood up and watched in silence, his mouth set in a grim line.

_Scene break_

Batman sat at the massive consul, his eyes focused on the contents of the screen. To his right stood Nightwing, he had a hand on his hip and a pen drive in his right hand, a few feet behind them was Harry who was leaning against the rail near the Batmobile, a scowl on his face as he watched the two.

"This bit of Intel's what brought me to town" commented Nightwing as he smiled slightly; he laughed slightly as he leaned forward to insert the drive into the computer. "Good thing I've always had perfect timing" neither of the two notice how Harry's scowl darkened further, or how he turned his gaze away his short hair shifting slightly from the caves breeze. The man didn't realise it, but he had just implied –well to Harry's mind he had implied- that Batman would have been in trouble without him, suggesting that Harry wouldn't have been sufficient back up for _his_ mentor.

"Take a look" he continued a blurred image of a figure running across roof tops came onto the screen, the computer enhancing the picture reveal that it was a man wearing the odd combination of a red helmet and a brown leather jacket. "I got this shot from a snitch; he said this guy's been making some serious moves."

"The Red Hood" stated Batman as he leaned forward slightly, eyes scanning over the figure he had seen but an hour before.

"Might be" mused Nightwing as he himself examined the image, "he bears a resemblance to the original."

Harry by this point was also looking at the screen his eyes narrowing on the figure as he thought back to what had happened, the dead men's faces still all too easy to picture in his own mind. He unconsciously moved forward, moving to stand on Batman's left, as Nightwing had taken his usual spot on the right. Said man looked down at him and once again offered him a smile, Harry ignored him keeping himself focused on what Batman was saying.

"Several criminals have utilised this persona" the Dark Knight commented as images of said criminals from newspapers and police files flashed onto the screen.

Nightwing looked back at the screen as once man wearing an expensive looking tuxedo and a large red dome came onto the screen "but one of particular interest though huh?" he asked looking at Batman knowingly. Harry on the other hand was looking up at the two in confusion, 'particular interest? Why would Batman have an interest in only one?'

"But he's locked up."

"Not his M.O either" replied Batman as he two looked at this one, the slits of his cowl narrowing, he leaned against his left hand as he puzzled over his next words. "There's been an up take in heavy trafficking, but crime is down."

"Indeed it is" commented Alfred as he came up from behind his silver tray carrying three white cups on it "master Batman got almost three hours sleep in the last two days, true bus man's holiday" joked the old man as he placed the tray down. Nightwing smiled and turned to face Alfred, frowning a moment later when he took notice of the domino mask on the old man's face, he then turned to glance at the small boy who stood on Batman's other side. Said boy was currently watching the screen with interest, his own green domino still in place. Nightwing turned back to face Alfred who was giving him an unreadable look before offering a cup to the younger man, Nightwing took it and began to add sugar stirring it as he quizzed Batman.

"But he is locked up, like a lot locked up" he paused slightly before turning to face the Dark Knight "maybe we should go for a visit?" The large black seta vacant and the young boy was now staring at the Batmobile as the large black car powered up, Nightwing growled to himself placing the cup back down before turning to run towards the vehicle. "Could you just once say 'let's get in the car'?" he shouted before jumping in, Harry went to follow when the roof suddenly clicked shut the vehicle taking off moments later.

The boy stared after it his eyes wider and his lowered lip trembling slightly as his stood on his own once more.


	15. Authors Note

Authors note:

Sorry guys, just putting this up to let you know that A Robin's Wings (the rewrites) first chapter has been posted. I am going away for the weekend but I will be deleting this version of the story on most likely Monday night.

Thank you to all my readers who have taken the time to read my stories


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